Blog

By Sarah Beleski a Recent ASU Nutrition Student

Every couple months or so, I travel four hours away to see one of my best friends. During one of my last trips, my friend made the most amazing pasta dish. Growing up in New Jersey, I’ve become accustomed to eating Italian food basically every other day. It’s everywhere around me and I’m not complaining about it. That being said… I am no stranger to pasta. This dish, however, was completely different than anything I’m used to. No red sauce, no red meat, and alternative pasta… and yet it has become one of my favorite meals.

On the night that my friend first made me this meal, I had three servings of it! And I usually eat like a bird, so that’s saying a lot. Below is the recipe for this super simple brown rice pasta dish!

Ingredients:

• 1 box of brown rice pasta (or brown rice quinoa pasta)
• 1 package of garlic chicken sausage (about 4 sausage links) (or any Italian chicken sausage you can find)
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• Around one cup of sun-dried tomatoes
• 4 ounces of sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 bunches of dinosaur kale (washed, de-ribbed, and chopped)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pot, start boiling water for the pasta
2. Cut the sausage links in little discs and cook them in a large saucepan over medium heat for about 8 minutes, flipping halfway through
3. When sausages are cooked, transfer them to a plate for later use
4. In that same saucepan, add a little olive oil to the pan and the sun-dried tomatoes
5. After a minute or two, add the chopped kale on top, season with salt and pepper, and put a lid on it
6. After another minute or two, take the lid off and stir everything in the saucepan
7. Add the pasta to the water and follow cooking instructions on the box
8. In the saucepan, the kale should be wilting. You can add the sausage back to it and mix it all together
9. Occasionally stir the mixture in the saucepan on low heat until the pasta is done cooking
10. Once you’ve drained the pasta, add it to the sausage, kale, and sun-dried tomatoes
11. Transfer to a large serving bowl, crumble the goat cheese on top, and mix together
12. You may need to add more salt and pepper, adjusting for your preference. Enjoy immediately or store in the refrigerator for later use