I've totally been on a pasta kick recently; this one is inspired by the creamy lemon pasta with sausage at an Italian restaurant in my old neighborhood. Over the years I became obsessed with it! So once I moved away, I knew I had to recreate it at home in my own kitchen.
It's funny - before this dish I NEVER would have thought of putting lemon and sausage together in a creamy sauce for pasta. They seem so ... contrary.
But the bright acidity of the lemon balances the weight of the sausage and cream.
It's really almost like a lemon parmesan cream sauce, except the sauce isn't quite so heavy as a full Alfredo would be. Or maybe that's just what I'm telling myself because lemon tastes so bright and healthy.
Other easy pasta dishes you might love:
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Creamy Lemon Pasta with Sausage and Peas
Pasta and peas are bathed in a rich and creamy lemon sausage sauce for a delightful splurge of a meal.
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bucatini or other sauce-grabbing pasta
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 links mild Italian sausage casings removed
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Add pasta to boiling water. Cook according to directions, adding the peas for the last four minutes of cooking time.
- Brown the sausage over medium high heat, breaking up larger chunks as it cooks.
- Add the cream and the nutmeg. Stir to combine. Let the sausage/cream/nutmeg mix come to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice, stir to combine. Stir in the parmesan cheese
- Drain pasta and peas, add to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce.
Tried this recipe?Mention @basilandbubbly or tag #basilandbubbly!
I found this recipe as a way to use what I had. I used milk instead of cream, and canned peas instead of frozen - and still thought it turned out well. I added a tbsp or so of starchy pasta water and a few teaspoons of flour to thicken it up.
It was easy, hearty, and a nice change from marinara. I’ll definitely make it again!
Great recipe! I added 4 large chopped shallots with the sausage and used 3 large links, 2 12 oz packages of fresh linguine and a bag of fresh shelled peas from Whole Foods. I saved a bit of the pasta water to thin as needed and added more fresh cream, lemon juice and Parmesan and fresh grated pepper to account for the bit more pasta, proportionate to the recipe. Great! Hubby said please make this again. It makes enough to share with a neighbor recovering from knee surgery 🙂