Pasta with Kale and Turkey Sausage

Mark Bittman caused a bit of a stir a few weeks ago with his New York Times article about saucing pasta. Americans, he points out, were long used to oversaucing their pasta, allowing it to swim in the bowl. But when Mario Batali and other Italian chefs came on the scene and started to show people how pasta is "meant" to be served, many Americans began to cook pasta that way - cooked al dente (often a little too undercooked, but that's a different topic) with just a touch of sauce, letting the pasta shine.

But Bittman turns the tables on that, encouraging readers to "oversauce" again. But he's not just talking red sauce. He instead talks about using the pasta as an accompaniment to veggies. The recipes he offers look fantastic (I keep meaning to try the winter squash one), but I tried something a little different, but still in the same vein.

Pasta with Kale and Turkey Sausage (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe)

8 ounces whole wheat pasta
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
10-15 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water and chopped
1 pound spicy turkey sausage, casings removed
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 14-ounce can fat-free chicken broth
1 pound fresh kale, chopped
1 15-ounce can cannellini beans
Parmesan cheese, shaved

Cook pasta according to package. Drain and keep warm.

Drain tomatoes from water. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add oil, tomatoes, onion, and sausage. Cook 10 minutes or until sausage is browned, stirring to crumble the sausage. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add Italian seasoning, pepper flakes and broth to pan. Add kale, folding it in to help it wilt. Keep stirring until kale is all wilted down. Stir in pasta and beans. Top with Parmesan shavings.