Buttered Cabbage Sausage pasta

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.20.2009

I made this out of a combination of a French recipe for buttered cabbage and a couple different Italian recipes (none of which used cabbage). I wasn’t sure how this would turn out, but it turned out better than I expected.

The cabbage, cooked for a long time over low heat, really reduces down in size, and with the butter, it forms a creamy sauce that sticks to the pasta very well. The sausage adds extra protein, but you can omit that if you don’t want it.

I ate this with some chopped boiled kale—the pasta sauce flavored the kale really well, especially with the bacon flavor and the sausage.

I’m not sure how kid-friendly this is—maybe if you added a bunch of tomato sauce to the cabbage, it’ll seem like hearty marinara?

Buttered cabbage sausage pasta

3-4 slices raw bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 head cabbage, shredded or chopped
2 apple chicken sausage links
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 lb pasta, your choice (I used whole wheat rigatoni)

Saute bacon, onion, garlic, and olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat until soft.

Add cabbage, lower heat to medium low or medium, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, slice and fry sausage links (I like mine a little blackened).

Add sausage, butter, oregano, tomatoes, and basil to cabbage. Stir, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Toss pasta with cabbage. Season with salt and pepper.

Optional: dust pasta with grated parmesan cheese before serving.