Pasta with Italian Sausage, Kale and Spicy, Herbed Ricotta Cheese

Circle B Kitchen

We were so blown away by how good this pasta turned out. You can totally make this as herby or as spicy as you want by choosing which kind of oil you want to use and whether you use sweet or spicy Italian sausage. I used 1 cup of frozen, chopped kale, which I thawed and squeezed dry (it doesn't have as much water in it as frozen spinach), but you can use fresh kale or baby kale or spinach or whatever floats your boat.

I lb penne pasta, cooked 1 minute less than the package directions (should be just al dente), drained, reserve 1 or 2 cups of the cooking water

3 largish-links of sweet or spicy Italian Sausage, casings removed (3/4 lb)

2 cups of our Spicy, Cheesy Ricotta

1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped kale

1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water

1 cup grated parmesan cheese for serving

Crumble the Italian sausage into a large saute pan and cook over medium high heat until cooked through and starting to brown. Stir in the kale and ricotta cheese, adding pasta cooking water until you have a creamy sauce (I usually add at least 1 cup). Taste for salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine thoroughly. Serve with grated parmesan cheese for topping.