Pasta With Chicken Sausage, Corn, Leeks, and Mushrooms

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Nothing’s better than pasta you can whip up from ingredients you already have lying around. Ready in minutes, these “back-pocket pastas” are the best in our books. This recipe could easily become a go-to. It has a super short ingredient list because Italian chicken sausage adds a ton of savory flavor and spices. Plus it’s pre-cooked so you just need to heat it up. Find pre-cooked sausages near the bacon at your grocery store. Any sort of short pasta will work, although we love twisted shapes such as Gemelli or casareche that catch sauce in their nooks and crannies.

Pasta With Chicken Sausage, Corn, Leeks, and Mushrooms
Photo: Greg Dupree
Hands On Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
20 mins
Yield:
4

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces casarecce or other short pasta 

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 12-oz. pkg. Italian chicken sausage, sliced crosswise into ¼-in.-thick pieces

  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

  • 2 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (from about 4 ears)

  • 2 medium leeks, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest, plus 2 Tbsp. lemon juice (from 1 lemon)

  • ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Directions

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until almost al dente, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving ½ cup of the pasta water.

  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage and mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add corn, leeks, and salt and cook, stirring often, until corn is tender and leeks are soft, about 4 minutes.

  3. Add butter, lemon zest, and reserved pasta water and cook, tossing, until liquid reduces and coats pasta, about 3 minutes. Add lemon juice and toss to coat. Serve topped with basil.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

648 Calories
31g Fat
70g Carbs
27g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Calories 648
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 31g 40%
Saturated Fat 11g 55%
Cholesterol 97mg 32%
Sodium 963mg 42%
Total Carbohydrate 70g 25%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein 27g

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

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