Happy Thursday, Friends.
Yes, I’m still stuck in the Scandoval of it all. I watched about 5 minutes of last night’s episode, became infuriated at an Ariana/Rachel scene, and for my blood pressure, am unsure of if I can continue watching this season.
We’ve had a busy week here at SWS HQ with an after-work event every day this week. Which means I haven’t done any cooking. I feel lost. untethered. And, find myself reminding my kitchen that I still love it.
In thinking about how little time I had this week to do something I love, I realized that all of us sometimes need a quick, easy, soul-filling recipe once in a while.
This week, I’m giving you one of the easiest recipes I make: Chickpea Pasta with chicken sausage and homemade pesto! Let’s dive into it.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
1 Box of Banzo Spaghetti
1 package of Chicken Sausage. (I’m a fan of any of Stew Leonard’s Chicken Sausage)
1 cup of Fresh Basil Leaves
1/2 cup of Pine Nuts: I suggest toasting them a little bit to bring out their flavor.
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese: Not gonna lie to you, I use pre-shredded parm cheese and always the thick flakes. Grating cheese was always my childhood task and honestly, I never want to do it again.
4-5 Fresh Whole Garlic Cloves: just throw them in there- the food processor will break it down.
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil: I recommend using good-quality oil for the best flavor.
1/3 cup Chili Oil: if you don’t like spicy, skip this.
3 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes: if you don’t like spicy, skip this.
1 Lemon, Freshly squeezed
Salt and Black Pepper: don’t be sparse when seasoning. You really want to build the flavors in this sauce
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER:
Fill up your pot with water and get it to a boil. Since a watched pot never boils, pre-occupy yourself on another burner by cooking your chicken sausage. I like to char mine in the pan and then bake it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350. You can also cook it in the pan on medium, but watch it and make sure to turn it every 3 minutes or so.
While your chicken sausage is baking, throw your pesto ingredients in a food processor and then it let it sit until you’re ready to serve.
Drain your pasta, chop up your chicken sausage, put it in a bowl, and top it with your pesto and asiago cheese because you’re fancy.
And, there ya have it. As always, thank you for being here.
In some house keeping news, I’ve been doing some behind the scenes work here at Salt, with Soul. I updated the “About” page, which now feels more “Leanne”.
Starting next week, we’ll be adding in a new “Friday Unwind” for paid subscribers. I was initially going to put “Salt” behind a paywall, but I love that so many of you come here for the recipe. As a freelancer, it’s tricky to balance streams of income with passion, and I’d rather add an element than take away something.
So, Friday Unwind will be filled with book recommendations, a cool clothing find, cocktail recipes and more. Like cooking, this is all unfolding organically and I love it. As I said yesterday at my birthday dinner, “I am most excited for this year because I feel like I’m finally out of safe mode. I’m diving into things again, but with more discipline. I can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon.”
I’ll see you Monday, friends. Enjoy the weekend.
1. I, too, am still sucked in by the Scandoval. UGH.
2. I love the idea of the Friday unwind, and your about page update is VERY you. So glad you are embracing both of these things <3
Thanks for the salt, thanks for the soul, looking forward to the unwind! :)