Capunti With Sun Dried Tomatoes, Chicken Sausage & Goat Cheese

Being a foodie I am always fascinated by different cuisines and I like to try them in my kitchen.  Few weeks ago I picked up this different shaped pasta from my grocery store with the notion to make something interesting.  They had a wide range of Italian pasta those were imported and it was really hard for me to pass the aisle without adding them to my cart.  Are you interested in knowing different types and shapes of Pastas?  If so, check out the list of some of the pastas here.

  

My hubby had the chance to taste snails during his trip to France and he captured the video of the dish to show us what he had. But I have to admit that I am not daring enough to try something that is extremely exotic like that. I can try any vegetarian meal in any cuisine without any hesitation, but when it comes to non-veg I will be finicky. While on his trip to Europe from Work, he found time to visit the French market and got me few varieties of cheese. One among them was a block of Goat Cheese seasoned with crushed black pepper. I was thrilled and excited to try the new cheese and there originated my Capunti Goat Cheese combo and it was absolutely delicious. I went again yesterday to check out the grocery store for more imported pasta and there was no trace of such thing in that store. I may have to wait to get this pasta or may have to check some Italian grocery stores for decorative cut pastas.

I would say don't turn away from this recipe if you cannot find Capunti pasta, you can substitute it with any tubular or decorative cut pasta those are softer after cooking.   The best thing about this recipe is that you can prepare this dish within 20 minutes.

Ingredients:

18.7 oz / 1. 2 lbs - Capunti pasta
1/4 cup - sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1/2 tsp - dry Italian herb seasoning (oregano,basil, pepper, capers, garlic & olives)
2 cups - cooked & sliced Chicken sausage like Al Fresco
10 - grape/cherry tomatoes cut into half
1/4 cup - extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup - pasta water reserved from cooking pasta
2 cloves - garlic minced
1/2 cup - grated goat cheese
1/4 cup - fresh torn basil leaves
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

• Cook pasta in salted water according to the package directions.  Drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil over the pasta so that they don't stick together.  Reserve 1/3 cup of the water in which you cooked the pasta.
• While pasta is cooking  you can roast the minced garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil till golden brown in a sauce pan.  Add the Italian herb seasoning, sun dried tomatoes and reserved pasta water.  Cook it covered for 2 minutes.  Now add the sliced cherry tomatoes and adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper.  Add the cooked sausage slices.  Cook for another minute and turn off the burner.
• Mix the drained pasta with the olive oil sauce you just prepared in the above step in a big bowl.  Add the fresh basil and grated goat cheese before plating the pasta.

Notes:

• You can use other shaped pasta those are smaller in size if you cannot find Capunti.  But Capunti has a soft texture and goes well with this recipe which makes this a special pasta dish.
• You can substitute Chicken sausage with any sausage of your choice.