Sausage Pappardelle

This one, the hubby gets excited about when he hears I'm going to make it. :)

There's a special little restaurant in downtown Sacramento that we absolutely love called Lucca.  The cuisine is Italian with a Californian spin.  They have a dish that consists of pappardelle pasta with spicy sausage and a mushroom ragu, they call 'Pappardelle'. It is to die for, so naturally I had to try to re-create it at home.  I found a recipe that comes pretty darn close on Martha Stewart's website.  It's actually a recipe adapted from celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver, so miss perfect Martha can't take all the credit!

Here's a link to the recipe...Pappardelle with Spicy Sausage and Mixed Wild Mushrooms 
(This recipe is adapted from Jamie Oliver's cookbook, "The Naked Chef Takes Off" (Hyperion, 2001))

Ingredients:
1 T. olive oil
9 oz spicy sausage, casing removed (or sweet Italian sausage)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pound mixed wild mushrooms (I sub white or crimini mushrooms)
2 T. fresh thyme leaves
1-2 small dried red chiles, crumbled (optional)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Fresh Pappardelle pasta
3-4 T. unsalted butter (I use 2-3 T.)
1/2 cup loosely packed flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-heat; add sausage, onion, and garlic, breaking up sausage with a spoon.  Cook until onions are golden, about 7 minutes.  Add mushrooms, thyme, and chiles; cook, stirring frequently until mushrooms release their liquid and it evaporates, 10-12 minutes.  Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt and pappardelle.  Cook until al dente, 3-5 minutes.  Reserve a 1/2 cup cooking liquid; drain pasta.  Return to pot.

Add butter to mushroom mixture along with some of the cooking liquid to loosen, if necessary.  Return mushroom mixture to pot; toss to combine.  Transfer to a large serving platter.  Garnish with parsley and cheese;  serve immediately.

I love spicy food, but it doesn't sit well with Albert, so I swapped out the spicy sausage for Trader Joe's Sweet Chicken Italian Sausage.  I have also used Johnsonville's Sweet Italian Sausage, which worked out well too when I made this recipe while visiting my family in Florida. Trader Joe's also has the pappardelle pasta I like to use, but I would think you could sub any pasta without a problem.