Pasta e Fagioli con Salsicce

Sometimes it's easy to just cook up some pasta and red sauce. This time, we wanted to try and make a different pasta dish. We had some sausage in the fridge from bari foods. Chris thought there must be a pasta with sausage and then he also thought maybe beans. Most sausage, pasta and bean dishes use white beans, but we didn't have any. So we used kidney beans and they were delicious, they added some extra flavor to the dish.

Recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium sized onion chopped
6 garlic cloves chopped - the recipe this was based on called for 10 - so don't skimp.
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 can drained red kidney beans
1 lb italian sausage
3/4 tablespoon red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces pasta (we used penne)
2 cups chicken stock

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil with a little salt to cook the pasta. Once the water is boiling add the pasta to the water and cook to al dente. Set aside once the pasta is done.


Remove the casings from the sausage and add to a medium sized saucepan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and the red pepper flakes. Cook until slightly browned - about 5 minutes. Add the chopped onion and continue to cook the sausage/onion mixture until the onions are translucent.

Now you can add the chicken stock, garlic, rosemary, black pepper and beans to the sausage and onions in the sauce pan. Bring the heat up to a soft boil and simmer for a few minutes to heat everything through. Now you are ready to bring the pasta and sauce together.
Stir thoroughly and serve.