Vegan Comfort Food: Apple, Sausage & Walnut Pasta

It is rare we have faux meats, maybe once every 2 to 3 months. On the rare occasion I do buy them, it is nearly always Field Roast, which don’t try to be meat. The “sausages” may come in sausage form, but no one is going to mistake them for meat, although they have a nice hearty texture and robust flavor. They work well broken up and tossed with pasta, especially for a tummy-filling fall or winter dinner.

Apple, Sausage & Walnut Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat penne pasta
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 white onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 crisp apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 package Smoked Apple Sage Field Roast Sausages, casings removed and crumbled
• 1 Tbsp white whole wheat flour
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 9 ou ce bag spinach leaves, chopped

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil, add penne, cook for time on package, drain.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium. Add walnuts, toast for 5 minutes, shaking pan often, transfer to a cutting board, finely chop and set aside.

Add the oil, onion and apple, sauté for 5 minutes, add sausage, continue sautéing for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle flour on top, gently stir in, cooking for a minute. Stir in broth and pepper, let simmer until thickened.

Add spinach on top, cover pan and let wilt, then toss to combine with sauce. Add in walnuts, then toss with hot penne. Season to taste.

Note: for a vegetarian version, toss with Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan cheese as desired.

Serves 4 to 6.

~Sarah