Charleston Wine + Food

Recipe by: Jacques Larson, Wild Olive and The Obstinate Daughter

(Makes 4 servings)

8oz Penne pasta

2 (4-6oz) pre-cooked boneless/skinless chicken breasts (grilled, baked, or sauteed)

6oz Sweet Italian Sausage (crumbled)

3 cloves of Garlic

1/2 cup of White Wine

2 tablespoons of Butter

2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup of Heavy Cream

1/2 cup of Grated Parmesan

1 quart of Packed Arugula (2 good handfuls)

Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, bring 6 quarts of water to a boil with 3 tablespoons of salt.
2. In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and add 3 garlic cloves smashed flat with the back of a knife. Once brown, remove the garlic from the pan, while reserving the oil. Add crumbled sausage and cook until it begins to brown. At this time, add your penne to the boiling, salted water. Cook for about 10 minutes or until al dente. Make sure to reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water.
3. Once the pasta is dropped, de-glaze the sauté pan with the browned sausage with white wine. Reduce the wine by half. Once reduced, add the heavy cream. Bring the cream and sausage to a boil. Reduce the heat and add the pre-cooked chicken. Toss in the pan to begin to warm the chicken through. At this point, the pasta should be close to done. Reserve some of the pasta cooking water and strain the penne, once al dente.
4. Add the penne to the large sauté pan or, if not big enough to hold everything, transfer the sausage/chicken and cream mixture to the stockpot. Toss all ingredients in a pan and add butter. Check the consistency of the pasta and add pasta water as needed to achieve desired creaminess (probably about 1 cup of water). Add arugula and wilt it in the pan. Divide pasta into 4 bowls. Check seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, serve, and enjoy!