Spicy Goat Cheese + Sausage Rigatoni with Green Vegetables

I’ve been waiting for a LONG time to purchase the  pasta press attachment for my KitchenAid mixer. As a person who cooks pasta regularly, having this pasta press come to my door was like Christmas morning. The thought of making bucatini, penne, macaroni, and rigatoni got me right into making one of my faves: Rigatoni.  And not just any rigatoni but sausage rigatoni!

As I scoured the kitchen for the right ingredients for the first use of the pasta attachment, I let me taste buds be my guide.  Fresh vegetables like peas, Brussel sprouts, and asparagus to celebrate the final days of Spring and the beginning of summer.  Chili flake and spicy sausage to make things POP.  Goat cheese to bring it all together.  And a hint of olive oil to enhance the homemade pasta and insure it’s still the star of the show.

By time I was finished my mind was made up: the pasta press is now a mainstay in my kitchen and this recipe will be a regular feature for months to come.  See below for the details on how I put this one together so you can too!

 

Should you have  a stand mixer with the pasta press attachment, please review my pasta dough recipe on the blog here you can make any pasta but I opted for Mezzi Rigatoni which can be made with the below equipment.

Shop what I used for this recipe below:

Print Recipe
Italian Sausage Rigatoni, Asparagus, Brussels, Peas with Spicy Goat Cheese Sauce
Servings
Ingredients
Servings
Ingredients

Directions

Place a large pot of water on high heat seasoned heavily with salt.

Meanwhile, in a large pan on medium heat, add the spicy Italian sausage making sure to break the meat apart while cooking. Cook for about 5-7 minutes or until the meat appears to be fully cooked;  Remove meat and place in a bowl lined with paper towel reserving the fat in the pan.

Add the brussel sprouts, sweet onion, asparagus and chili flakes, garlic and paprika with a pinch of salt – using the fat from the sausage to cook the vegetables.  Cook vegetables until they are soft but are still bright with a bit of crunch.  Mine took about 5-7 minutes but it all depends on the size and cook of your stovetop.  Add two tablespoon of goat cheese and the lemon zest/juice. Mix until evenly incorporated.

Once water is boiling, add your pasta to the water and cook to el dente.  For fresh pasta, this can take less than a minute.  For store bought pasta, it will be closer to 8 minutes.

Strain pasta, reserving some pasta water, and transfer to the vegetable mixture. Add peas, cooked sausage and mix until well incorporated.  If the pasta sauce is too thick,  add a couple tablespoons of pasta water.

Dish into your favorite serving bowl, drizzle some olive oil and top with Parmesan, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Enjoy!