Rustic Italian Zucchini "Sauce" with Penne and Chicken Sausage

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3.94 from 16 votes

Rustic Italian Zucchini "Sauce" with Penne and Chicken Sausage

A simple and delicious rustic Italian pasta with zucchini "sauce" and sliced Italian chicken sausage.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Total Time1

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: penne pasta with zucchini, rustic Italian pasta, southern Italian farmhouse pasta

Servings:

Author: Martha McKinnon | Simple Nourished Living

Equipment

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced into half moons
3 pounds zucchini, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
6 ounces whole wheat pasta, such as penne
2 links cooked Italian chicken sausage, thinly sliced
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften.
Add the zucchini and cook, stirring frequently, until the zucchini browns and starts to fall apart. This should take about 15 to 25 minutes, depending on your pan, the heat level, and the size of the zucchini pieces.
Meanwhile, add the pasta to boiling salted water. Cook 2 minutes less than the package instructs. Before draining, carefully scoop out 3 cups of the hot pasta water.
Add 1 cup of the pasta water to the browned zucchini. Bring to a gentle simmer, adjusting the heat if necessary, and stirring to scrape up any browned bits.
Add another half cup of the pasta water and repeat the process until the zucchini takes on a thick, almost creamy consistency.
Add the cooked pasta to the zucchini mixture, along with a couple large pinches of coarse salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Cook, for a couple of minutes, until the pasta softens. Stir in the sliced sausage.
Remove the skillet from the heat and taste again to see if the dish needs salt or pepper before serving.

Notes

Serving size: 1/4th recipe

WW Points: 7

Check the WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app.
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)

8 SmartPoints (Green plan)

8 SmartPoints (Blue plan)

4 SmartPoints (Purple plan)

9 PointsPlus (Old plan)

I adapted the recipe slightly: beginning with thinly sliced onions (instead of caramelizing them separately), adding the chopped zucchini and then stirring in sliced grilled Italian chicken sausage at the end.

Nutrition