Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta

I love Saturday mornings.

I get to enjoy the sunshine that is finally shining through our living room window.
Paul is making breakfast. There is a big pot of freshly brewed Costa Rican coffee in the corner making the room smell amazing. We're watching football. You know, real football.
(Did I mention Paul is English? I've willingly been converted.  Go Spurs!) After the football we're going to go for a hike in our favorite park where we got engaged. It's total marital harmony.

You know what doesn't make for marital harmony?  Figuring out what to eat that will make both of us happy. Paul is a meat and potatoes man. I want veggies in pretty much everything and eat meat sparingly. I know that after a week of black beans, white beans, split peas, and lentils for dinner I need to work harder to compromise.

I found a fabulous compromise while going through a book of recipes I've been storing up for the past decade. It's from Eating Well and it has everything we both want: Pasta and hot Italian sausage for Paul, lots of tomatoes and EIGHT CUPS of spinach for me. Eight cups! Woot!

The sauté of spinach, sausage and tomatoes is so good I want to eat it on everything, and I think I could. I think you could spread some goat cheese on a toasty piece of artisan bread and top it with the sauté and have a fabulous sandwich. I'd love to have it with an egg white scramble. I might just do that for dinner tonight.

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta
from Eating Well
Time: about 30 minutes / Yield: 6 - 1 1/2 cup servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz. whole-wheat short pasta (shells, twists, etc.)
• 8 oz. hot italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 8 cups baby spinach (or arugula)
• 2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Pecorino Romano, or Parmesan cheese, plus more to taste
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook pasta until just tender, about 9 to 11 minutes, or according to package directions.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid when pasta is finished.

While pasta is boiling, cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about five minutes.

Add the garlic, tomatoes, and spinach to the sausage pan and stir/toss often, until the greens wilt and the tomatoes begin to break down.  Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.

Combine the 1/2 cup of cheese, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Slowly whisk the cooking liquid and oil into the cheese.  Add the pasta and toss to combine.  (The sauce is NOT thick.)

Serve the pasta topped with the sausage spinach mixture and an extra dusting of cheese.

How do you keep peace at the table? What kind of food compromises do you find yourself making? What kind of compromises has your partner made for you?