Pasta with Sausage and Cheese (Macaronia me Loukanika ke Tiri)

By MissiAnn

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 semi-cured Greek pork sausages
• or sweet Italian sausages, cut into 1" pieces
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 8 oz. pasta, preferably garganelli or penne
• 1 ⁄2 cup white wine
• 1 cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 1 ⁄2 cup heavy cream
• 1 ⁄4 cup loosely packed fresh oregano leaves
• 1 ⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

Step 1

1. Heat oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 7 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, bring a 4-qt. pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 9 minutes. Strain pasta, reserving 1⁄2 cup pasta cooking liquid; set aside.

3. Add wine to sausages and cook until reduced by one quarter, about 2 minutes. Add the blue cheese, cream, and oregano and cook until the mixture is thick and the cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Stir in reserved pasta and season with salt. (If sauce seems too thick, stir in some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid.) Transfer pasta to a small platter; garnish with grated cheese and season with black pepper.