| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 4 chicken Italian sausage links
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 pound farfalle pasta
- 1 cup toasted walnut halves
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups fresh basil
- 1 cup grated Pecorino-Romano or Parmesan
- 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more if needed
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Grill the sausages, covered with a medium heatproof bowl, until nice and charred and no longer pink on the inside, flipping once, 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool slightly, then slice on the bias. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Poach the garlic cloves in the boiling water for 5 minutes, then transfer them with a slotted spoon to a food processor. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to al dente according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, add the walnuts to the food processor with the garlic and pulse until chopped, about 8 times. Add the spinach, basil, cheese, olive oil, raisins, salt, pepper and lemon zest and juice. Pulse about 10 times, until combined but still rustically chopped. Season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Using a spider, add the pasta to the skillet. Add the spinach pesto and toss to combine. Heat until warmed through. Season to taste if necessary and serve immediately topped with grilled sausage slices.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1533 |
| Total Fat | 106 g |
| Saturated Fat | 26 g |
| Carbohydrates | 101 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 47 g |
| Cholesterol | 120 mg |
| Sodium | 1315 mg |
Reviews
Love this recipe. I like serving it with chicken and apple sausage.
Excellent recipe. Only made one change— used Rainbow Swiss Chard because my husband doesn’t like spinach. Will definitely make again!
This pesto is insanely delicious! Thank you Jeff! Do you think this pesto would freeze well? Would it turn brown in color if I did? If I could freeze this…it would be amazing.
Made this tonight, it was delicious! Will definitely be making this again
its so easy and delicious. i’ve made this already 4 times.
This was so good! Make sure to get pecorino if you can. It honestly doesn’t need the meat, either – I am 100% a meat eater, so thats saying a lot!
Excellent! Used regular raisins and pancetta instead of chicken, since that’s what we had on hand. Easy and delicious.
This is fantastic! I made the pesto, as directed, and served over chickpea shell pasta (which I was inspired to try by another episode of The Kitchen) and it was perfect. Forgot to buy the Italian chicken sausage, but had chicken-apple sausage on hand; this was a terrific pairing with the pesto, but will try with the Italian as well. This pesto is so good (and even more nutritious than standard pesto), that it will be my “go to” recipe from now on!
It is an amazing recipe. Very tasty! Not too much garlic or to much basil. (Even though I love both!) The raisins are undetectable, but necessary. They cut the bite of the walnuts, basil and garlic w/o sacrificing taste. (Truth be told, I only had regular raisins that I reconstituted in hot water for 20 min.) Added to the garlic and nut mixture for optimum chop. (Otherwise followed exactly.)Will make this again for sure! Thanks Jeff!
I enjoyed your pasta show with different varieties of pasta, since I am allergic to wheat – not gluten, and soy. The double whammy of allergies!