Veggie and Sausage Pasta

One of the cooks at my job is from Bangladesh and is always incorporating the spices and flavors from his home into Americanized dishes with delicious results!  He sometimes isn't great about describing what's in a dish, or when he does list the ingredients, he can't say how much of something he puts in it.  My "how much ingredient x is in this" question results in a "oh just a little bit" response.  He makes this delicious pasta dish with veggies and vegan sausage that is creamy, spicy and has a nice amount of spices, different than if I were to prepare it if I were the one cooking.  I would most likely just make it with a simple marinara sauce, which is his base, but he then adds a ton of other delicious ingredients. 

I had been telling my Hubby about the dish for several weeks, and even though I had intended to bring him a sample of it when Gany our cook prepared it, it always accidentally ended up in my stomach instead of his.  So one day when I was talking about it yet again and he was complaining about me never bringing him any to try, I was going through my chest freezer and discovered a package of frozen vegan sausage.  I pretty much always have homemade marinara sauce in the freezer, so I decided I would surprise him with the dish for dinner.  And although it isn't exactly like how Gany prepares it, it sure was delicious!  Hubby ate two giant plates out of it, saying there was something different about it, some kind of spice I don't usually use, something he couldn't figure out.  It made me smile because it was the exact same way I had reacted the first time tasting the dish.

 Veggie and Sausage Pasta:

Nicely spicy and so colorful!

Serves: 4-6


16 oz. penne pasta (or desired pasta - I was out of penne)
4 vegan sausages, cooked in olive oil and sliced on diagonal

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow pepper, julienned 1 green bell pepper, julienned
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 medium yellow onion, sliced into strips
1 large jalapeno, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups homemade marinara sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin

1.  Bring a large pot of salted, oiled water to a boil.  Cook the pasta until al dente.
2.  While the pasta is cooking, brown the sausages in the olive oil.  Once browned, set aside to cool slightly, then slice on the diagonal.
3.  Place a large saute pan over medium high heat and ass the olive oil.  Allow it to become hot.
4.  Once the oil is hot, add the yellow, green, red and jalapeno peppers, plus the onions and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently for several minutes until tender crisp. 
5.  Add the marinara sauce and the spices: black pepper, sea salt, garam masala, pepper flakes, granulated garlic and cumin.  Stir well to cover the veggies.
6.  Lower the heat and allow the mixture to cook for several minutes, until fragrant. 
7.  Add in the veggies sausages and toss to coat. 
8.  Add the drained, cooked pasta and toss to coat. 
9.  Season to taste - adding additional sea salt or pepper flakes to taste.


Enjoy!

Koko