Italian Sausage Gochujang Pasta
A big bowl of comforting pasta full of sizzling flavors comes together through the union of Italian sausage, Korean gochujang, and Japanese miso. I’ve also folded in baby spinach and artichokes. Makes this on a weekday or weeknight.
- Yield: 4
Ingredients
8 oz/230 g penne pasta
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion/about 400 g, diced
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 Tbsp gochujang
1 tsp miso
1 tsp crushed fennel seeds
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (See Notes)
15 oz/425 g Italian sausage
10 oz/280 g fresh baby spinach (See Notes)
14 oz/ g canned quartered artichokes packed in water, drained
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Cook the pasta to al dente as per the manufacturer’s instructions. Reserve 2 cups/480 ml of pasta cooking water.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet or saucepan.
- Add the onion and sauté until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the fennel and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Crumble the sausage and add it to the skillet. Cook until the sausage is browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup/240 ml of pasta cooking water. Stir in the gochujang and miso and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a medium-low.
- Fold in the spinach and artichokes, and sauté until the spinach wilts, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Fold in the cooked pasta to coat well. Add the remaining 1 cup/240 ml of pasta cooking water to help loosen up the sauce if it is too dry. It should be saucy enough to coat the pasta, not too wet.
- Serve hot, topped with the grated Parmesan. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- I’ve successfully made this dish with chickpea pasta.
- I prefer white or yellow miso, but red miso will also work.
- If you use a milder red pepper flake like Aleppo, use 1 tsp. I normally use Aleppo in all my cooking.
- If using frozen spinach, use 5 oz/140 g. Of course, you can always double the quantity!
2 Responses
Really good and so easy to make!
This sounds delicious. I have added soy sauce to our sausage pasta but have not tried miso…which I love. Interesting. We are also a big fan of fennel with sausage pasta but apparently I am adding it to my dish too late. I will do as your recipe instructs. Thank you for the tips. By the way, if you have never tried gochujang cookies…they are swirled with the spice and very yummy.