Sunday Dinner: Whole-wheat pasta with grilled vegetables and sausage

Jun 03, 2012 8:00 AM by Patricia Conte

Posted in Food & Recipes / Family Recipes

Dig In To Delicious Pasta

Summer fun can catch you off guard with your time. What can you make for dinner when it's crunch time? Whole-wheat pasta with grilled vegetables and sausage is a quick cooking, all-in-one dish that adds lots of color and flavor to your meal.

Sunday Dinner: Whole-wheat pasta with grilled vegetables and sausage

Time flies in the summer

It's the start of the summer and, after a long winter, you might get caught up in all the season has to offer. The next thing you know, the day is over and your thoughts turn to dinner. Whole-wheat pasta with grilled vegetables and sausage is perfect in this situation! Grilling the veggies at the same time as the sausage is helpful to get things together quickly. Use whatever vegetables are in season — in this case, zucchini is perfect. Your family will love this dish!

Get back to basics with this recipe for meatballs and pasta >>

June is National Home Safety month

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourages families to take time to learn about child safety during National Home Safety month — and all year — by reviewing a few simple tips. The CDC provides helpful information that can help keep your family safe from burns, drownings, poisonings and falls. Take some time to chat with your kids about safety and do what you can to help protect the ones you love.

Learn how to help keep kids safe in the kitchen >>

Whole-wheat pasta with grilled vegetables and sausage

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1/2 pound whole-wheat fusilli pasta (or another medium-sized pasta)
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices, then quartered
10 ounces Broccolini
4 links Italian sausage (soy sausage requires about the same grilling time as the vegetables)
8 ounces prepared pasta sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to brush on vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

Preheat your grill to medium heat. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
Lightly brush the vegetables with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place them in a grill basket and grill for about four minutes. Toss the vegetables in the basket and cook for another three or four minutes.
If you're using soy sausage, add to the grill at the same time as the vegetables, rotating once. If you're using regular sausage, grill until they are cooked.
When the veggies and sausage are finished, coarsely chop the Broccolini and cut the sausage into 1/2-inch slices.
Drain the pasta when finished cooking, and reserve about 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
In a large pasta pan, add two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about a minute, stirring.
Add the vegetables, sausage and pasta sauce and mix well. Toss in the pasta and mix everything together, just until well coated. If the mixture seems like you need more sauce, add a bit of the reserved pasta water.
Transfer the pasta to a large serving bowl and top with the Parmesan cheese.

Pairing fresh vegetables and pasta is a perfect idea!