A quick weeknight pasta dinner….that’s what this Penne with Kransky and Vine-Ripened Tomatoes is all about. No complicated, time consuming sauce is required for this dish. Just good quality, vine-ripened tomatoes that is cooked down with onions, garlic and capsicum to create a delicious sauce.
I know that I have written enough about the dull, dreary winter out here in Melbourne but I continue to write about it because I have turned into the laziest, slouchiest (if there is such a word) person in the world. Instead of embracing the beauty of the winter whites, all that I can think of and do is – sleep.
Oh! I can sleep – hours altogether without a worry in the world. I enjoy late nights and then sleep into the late mornings, sometimes afternoons. But the euphoria of the long, relaxing sleep does not last long. The mountain of household and professional chores gets to me and before long, I get grumpy and moody (vehemently making a mental resolution to follow better and disciplined sleeping habits). And to repeat it all again the next day. Sigh!
During the weekdays, I do not get to indulge in this erratic behavior and try to maintain a semblance of normality. But with the winter and school holidays setting in, I am back to my crazy schedule which leaves me hardly any time to cook elaborate meals or even get creative and experimentative in the kitchen.
And my go to dish for such days is pasta. There are a zillion recipes that you can come up for pasta and many of these require very few ingredients. Pasta is extremely forgiving and versatile, ready to take up any flavours that you infuse into it.
Today’s dish is penne with kransky and vine-ripened tomatoes; just as the name suggests, the main ingredients complimenting the pasta are the sweet and juicy vine-ripened tomatoes and the salty, earthy kransky. For those of you who do not know, kransky or Kranjska klobasa is a Slovenian sausage usually made from pork and seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper. This has a rich and meaty flavour and works really well with pasta.
Check out these delicious pasta recipes that are a favourite in our home….
- Pasta with Spinach and Goat’s Cheese
- Pasta Stir fry with Veggies and Mortadella
- Pasta Fantastico with Prawns and Snow Peas
Penne with Kransky and Vine Ripened Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 500 gms penne
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red capsicum – deseeded and sliced
- 2 medium onion – sliced
- 2 garlic cloves – crushed
- 1 red chilli – finely sliced (add extra if you like it hot)
- 4 kransky or other continental sausage – thickly sliced
- 4-5 Vine-ripened tomatoes
- 50 g baby spinach leaves
- 90 g feta – crumbled
- Salt – to season
- Black pepper – to season
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley leaves; finely chopped
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water as per packet instructions. Drain and keep aside reserving some of the water.
- In the meantime, heat oil in a large pan on medium. Sauté onion, garlic and chilli for 4-5 minutes until softened.
- Add sausage and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Add the capsicum and tomatoes, cook on high for 2 minutes and then simmer till the tomatoes have turned mushy; stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir spinach through until it starts to wilt.
- Add the cooked pasta to the tomato mix; season with salt and pepper. Toss well to combine. Add some pasta water to thicken the sauce.
- Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and fresh parsley before serving.
- Serve hot.
Yummmmmy! Love those vine-ripened tomatoes 😀 Your pasta is just amazing! 🙂
Thanks dear; a simple and delicious affair.
A girl after my own heart, am a sleep junkie too…. lovely recipe…congrats on the recognition and the interview.
ha ha….sweet foodie dreams. and thanks dear.
This is a wonderful recipe. Looks really delicious. 🙂
thanks Sadia