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baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce

by In american, italian, main course, meat, pork Leave a comment

Want the comfort of a nice pasta al forno but you don’t have time to make anything fancy? Baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce is a fast way to get a fix.  

Simple. Fast. Easy. Sausage and a bit of crushed red chili kick the flavours up a notch. It’s an Italian spin on mac and cheese with pulled pork.

I’m a pasta al forno addict. It’s by far my favourite way to make pasta. Lasagna. Cannelloni. Even baked ziti. I love it all.

It’s all I can do not to fill this blog with 27 different lasagna recipes. Someday I’m going to try the Timpano from The Big Night. Look out Tony Shalhoub.

Baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce is an easy way to get your pasta al forno fix.

Baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce is a lot easier than the Timpano if you’re not feeling up for a challenge. You can have this on the table in about 40 minutes. Timpano is around 6 hours.

 

Baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce is an easy way to get your pasta al forno fix.

Baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce is an easy way to get your pasta al forno fix.
Print Recipe
0 from 0 votes

baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce

Sausage and crushed red chilies add another dimension in this baked pasta with sausage alfredo sauce.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 929kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

  • 1 lb mild Italian sausage - removed from casing and crumbled
  • 1/2 onion - finely diced
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 cloves garlic - crushed
  • 1 cup heavy cream - 35% or higher fat content
  • 1 1/2 cups grated parmigiano reggiano - not the cardboard pre-fab stuff
  • crushed red chilies to taste - I like about a tsp for just a bit of bite
  • 8 oz fresh mozzarella in water - drained and cut into 1/2 inch squares
  • 1 lb conchiglie or other similar shell pasta

Instructions

  • Pre-heat your oven to 350F. Position the rack about 8 inches from your broiler.
  • Put a big pot of well salted on to boil
  • Melt the butter in an oven-proof frying pan large enough to hold all the pasta. Cook the onions over medium low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.
  • Add the dried pasta to the boiling water.
  • Crumble the sausage meat into the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until cooked. This takes about 5-7 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and cook another minute.
  • Add the cream and heat through. Stir in 3/4 cup (half) the parmigiano reggiano to melt. Hold over low heat until the pasta is cooked.
  • When just barely done, drain the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot and mix in the sausage Alfredo sauce thoroughly.
  • Return the pasta and sauce to the oven-proof frying pan. Sprinkle the remaining 3/4 cup parmesan and the fresh mozzarella overtop and place in the oven on the high rack. Bake for about 10-12 minutes then set your oven to broil. You are going for a nicely browned top. Watch your pasta closely. Seriously. It can all go to hell in a minute.
  • Let stand about 10 minutes and serve as you would any baked pasta. It's a big, gooey, delicious mess so don't get any ideas that you can plate this nicely.

Notes

You can play with this recipe. A mix of pecorino romano instead of parmigiano adds a nice salty bite. Adding another 6-8 oz of fresh mozzarella cubes mixed right into the pasta before you top it moves it into super cheesy goodness land.

Nutrition

Serving: 8servings | Calories: 929kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Cholesterol: 168mg | Sodium: 1244mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1150IU | Vitamin C: 2.7mg | Calcium: 546mg | Iron: 2.3mg

 

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korean style pork chops

by In bbq and grilling, korean, main course, meat, pork Leave a comment

Korean style pork chops are a little bit spicy, a whole lot savoury and loaded with flavour. Try them when your everyday pork chops just won’t do.

I love a good pork chop. And Korean style pork chops are one of my favourite ways to serve them up. Something about the umami-ness (like that’s a word) makes me smile. 

Get to know Korean food 

I have a thing for Korean food. Not sure why it isn’t more popular. It’s a little bit spicy. And it’s different from other Asian cuisines. Distinct.

It’s not all about kimchi and Korean BBQ either. Korean is a rich culture with diverse cooking styles and tastes. It’s getting known though.

I have a Korean grocery near my house now. And most Asian groceries carry a lot of Korean these days. So it’s not that far out there. 

Korean is a little bit spicy. Not mouth searing like some Asian cuisines but it does have a bit of a kick. Balanced. Savoury. Give it a try. 

Korean pork chops are easier than you think

Korean style pork chops take about 5 minutes to prep and cook up in no time flat. A few ingredients, a quick marinade and your ready to go.

There’s nothing too exotic here. Nothing crazy complicated. You might need a trip to an Asian grocer but you will be glad you went.

Gochujang – Korea’s secret weapon

One of the backbone seasonings in Korean cooking is gochujang. It’s what makes these Korean style pork chops what they are.

Gochujang is a Korean chili paste. It’s not scary. Not strange. It’s not some weird fish concoction. If you’ve ever had Korean, you’ve had gochujang. It’s like miso with some heat. Not exactly. But pretty close.

You can get it at pretty much any Asian market. If you can’t find it, mixing sriracha and miso comes pretty close. 

 

Gochujang is the secret ingredient in these Korean style pork chops.

Gochujang is the secret ingredient in these Korean style pork chops.

 

You can cook these Korean style pork chops in a skillet and finish them off in an oven. Or you can grill them up for even more flavour. If you do cook them in a skillet you can spoon the drippings onto the chops. That’s a nice touch.

However you cook these make sure you don’t go above an internal temperature of 135F. Pork loin is not forgiving. It will dry out on you and no wonder sauce is going to save it.

But if you nail these Korean style pork chops you are going to love them.

 

Gochujang is the secret ingredient in these Korean style pork chops.
Print Recipe
3.2 from 5 votes

korean style pork chops

Gochujang takes run of the mill pork chops and makes them special. If you can't find gochujang, 2 tsp of sriracha in 2 Tbsp of white miso works.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time20 mins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Korean
Servings: 4
Calories: 486kcal
Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

  • 4 one inch thick pork loin chops
  • 2 Tbsp gochujang
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 clove garlic - minced
  • 1 tsp grated ginger
  • 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • sesame seeds - for garnish

Instructions

The marinade

  • Combine all the ingredients except the pork chops and sesame seeds and mix thoroughly. Gochujang is pretty thick out of the fridge so keep going. You will get to a smooth marinade.
  • Mix the marinade with the pork.

Skillet method

  • Pre-heat your oven to 375F.
  • Heat a skillet large enough to hold the chops in a single layer over medium heat.
  • Film the skillet with vegetable oil.
  • Briefly fry the chops to brown them.
  • Turn the chops over and place them in the pre-heated oven.
  • Cook, until they reach an internal temperature of 135F.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds and spoon any juices from the pan overtop.

Grill method

  • Prepare your grill for medium direct heat.
  • Grill the chops, turning a couple times, until they reach an internal temperature of 135F.
  • Let stand for 5 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with sesame seeds and spoon the accumulated juices overtop.

Nutrition

Serving: 4servings | Calories: 486kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 61g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 189mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 1098mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 15IU | Vitamin C: 1.6mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1.6mg