Farfalle With sausage, Cannellini Beans and Kale

This is a hearty and healthy pasta dish, ready in well under 30 minutes.

Whenever I ask my husband for dinner suggestions his answer is almost always " some kind of pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and sausage". Well, that made this dish perfect for him, and the rest of us. I bought sweet Italian sausage by mistake, but I think my kids liked it better this way. If you like it spicy go with the hot variety. You could also substitute spinach for the the kale. Either way, this is a quick comforting weeknight meal. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 box (16-ounce) farfalle pasta (bow ties)
1/4 cups oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
8-10 ounces hot or sweet Italian sausage
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
1 (14- ounce) can fat free chicken broth
2 (5- ounce) packages fresh kale
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Parmesan cheese for serving
Fresh bread (Optional)

Preparation:

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks, drain tomatoes into a small sieve set over a bowl, reserving 1 tablespoon oil, slice tomatoes. Heat a large Dutch oven or saute pan over medium heat. Add tomatoes, reserved oil, onion, and sausage to pan.Cook until sausage is crumbled and browning, about 10 minutes. Add garlic to pan, cook 1 minute. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper, if using, and broth to pan. Stir in kale, cover pan and simmer 5 minutes. When pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water before draining. Add pasta and beans to sausage mixture. Add some of the pasta water as needed.. Season with salt and pepper and shave parmesan cheese over the top. A drizzle of olive oil doesn't hurt either!

Serves 6

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Here is a variation on this dish!