Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage (carbonara style!)

Let’s all just raise a quick glass to the happy marriage of two beloved pastas here in my Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage recipe, shall we? Dang it’s good. I’ve given a traditional Italian-style Pasta with cabbage and sausage the carbonara treatment and hooray! Better together … to ever, and ever. Plain carbonara and standard-op cabbage and sausage pasta are great. They need no tweaking. But sometimes it’s not about need, is it? Playing in the kitchen is the most wonderful thing, and there may be no better genre of food with which to play than pasta. Noods! Yes, they are rife for the riffing, and this was a very good playdate, y’all.

What is Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage?

This is a classic pasta preparation that combines long and windy shreds of cabbage (in my case, red cabbage but usually it’s green) with pasta. Italian sausage brings a salty, super savory element to the dish and I like to really go for it with some toasted slices of fresh garlic. It’s to die for, really.

What type of cabbage should I use?

So, typically if you Google this concept, you’ll find recipes that feature long noodles with green cabbage. But in my twist here, we’re going to swap in some red cabbage and I think the whole scene is so much lovelier for it. I mean, just look at it! The long strands of slivered red cabbage slowly bleed their rosy hue into the pan of noodles, faintly staining them and creating a truly pretty pasta. I love it SO. But honestly, you can also use green cabbage and I’ve written the recipe to reflect that truth. Cabbage how you like, friends!

What type of sausage should I use?

I like a spicy bulk Italian sausage here, but you could go with a mild Italian sausage as well or instead. Up to you! I also use spicy chorizo sometimes for a fun, Mex-Italian mashup.

What is bulk sausage?

Bulk sausage is just sausage that isn’t in link form or encased in any way. It’s just loose and free in its packaging, and therefore very quick and easy to work with. If you can’t find that for whatever reason, feel free to use links of fresh Italian sausage (not smoked or pre-cooked) instead. Just be sure to remove the casings beforehand, which you can do by simply tearing into them and pulling them off of the meat.

How to cook pasta like an Italian Nonna

Pasta cookery is so very simple – you’re literally just boiling water here, right? But even so, even with it’s great simplicity, there are some tried and true tricks to preparing sausage THE RIGHT WAY, like Italians do and have done for eons. Here are a few great need-to-knows when it comes to pasta cooking. Your noods will be all the better for it, I promise.

What does al dente mean?

The term al dente literally translates from Italian to “to the tooth.” This means you want the noodles to retain a little bite – a little toothsome mouthfeel, if you will. Basically, you don’t want to cook then until they’ve become total mush. That sort of messes with the pasta’s integrity and shape at some point, and it ain’t good eats.

One of the most important things to remember when boiling pasta that is also going to be tossed about in a big pan of sauce and other goodies, is to cook it just until it’s no longer hard, but isn’t totally soft. This is easy guys, it’s not rocket science. This recipe exemplifies this tip, as we will boil the angel hair pasta and then toss the noodles in a warm sauce, which will continue to soften the noodles to a small degree. The takeaway here? DON’T OVERCOOK YOUR PASTA.

Salty like the sea

I’m always asking you to salt your pasta “like the sea,” aren’t I? Yes, it’s true. I share so many pasta recipes here on MKL and I always add this verbiage into my recipe instructions, as this is very important. Pasta are usually flavored all over their outsides by sauces of all sorts. But as the saying goes, “it’s what on the insides that counts.” Your pasta recipes will taste restaurant quality if you begin by cooking your noodles in water that has been generously salted. This is the only way to actually season and flavor the pasta from the insides. So yes, you want the water to be so salty that it’s almost like the ocean. So seasoned that, if you taste a noodle after cooking it (to al dente!), it should taste nice and seasoned, not bland.

I ask you to do this in my Pantry Pasta (my all-time favorite pasta), my Blushing Italian Sausage and Rigatoni Pasta Bake, and my Lemony Spaghetti with Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas.

Quick tricks:

1. Lots of water in the pot. You want the pasta to have room to move.
2. If you have to hold your drained pasta for a while, for whatever reason, before tossing it in a sauce. Drizzle with olive oil to keep it from sticking together. Don’t put oil n the boiling water, as it will do nothing and is a waste of good oil.
3. Toast the pasta in advance! I haven’t included that step in this recipe, but a quick stovetop toast in a dry pan or oven roast on a baking sheet (350 degrees for about 10 minutes) is a great way to infuse plain noodles with toasty, roasty flavor before they even go into the (salty like the sea) water.
4. Pasta should be tossed with the sauce in the pan and THEN served. We don’t put naked noodles on a plate and then top with sauce. Oh no we do not!

What you’ll need to make my Cabbage and Sausage Pasta

Again this pasta is an exemplary example (hmm) of the fact that so often, two are better than one. At least this is true when it comes to recipes. We’re taking two great things – pasta carbonara and cabbage and sausage pasta – and merging them together in one big fat recipe that is so much better for their union. We’re only using a handful of simple things that work beautifully together to build flavor, texture, and let’s be honest – major visual appeal. Here’s what you’ll need to grab:

INGREDIENTS

• 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, and more as needed
• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage in bulk, or links with the casings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ¾ pound angel hair pasta (see note)
• Kosher salt for the pasta water
• 5 cups finely shredded red cabbage (about half of a small-to-medium head of cabbage)
• 1 teaspoon crushed chili flakes or 1 small red or green chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 eggs
• ⅔ cup grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, divided

Why 3/4-pound of pasta, Lauren?

Okay, so I often call for 3/4 pound of pasta in my recipes, as I tend to cook/write recipes for four people and that’s just the right amount of pasta for most recipes. A pound tends to make things too “pasta heavy” and I like a ratio of more half pasta to half other things (veggies, proteins, etc.). So! I cordon off about 1/4 pf each bag or box of pasta that I’m cooking with and then package that back up, waiting until I’ve got another 3/4-pound’s worth and then away we go again, ad infinitum. 

Want a quick tutorial on how to cut cabbage correctly? My great friends Sonja and Alex over at A Couple Cooks have a great video that you can find here.

How to make Pasta with Cabbage and Sausage

This is a quick-and-easy pasta recipe that has loads of savory, interesting flavors going on. Red cabbage is such an awesome ingredient, and I absolutely love the way it sort of mimics the size and shape of long strands of noodle, their rosy-hued counterparts. Feel free to sub green cabbage, though. That’s totally fine here. Also whether you go for a spicy sausage or a milder one is up to you. I love spice so I try to incorporate chilies into my recipes as much as I can get away with. But I understand if that’s not your jam.

Anyway, here’s what we do:

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, deep-sided skillet over medium high heat. Add the sausage, ensuring it’s all in an even layer. Let the sausage get really browned and crusty before turning or stirring it. Cook the sausage through (takes about 5 minutes total) and, using a slotted spoon or fish spatula, transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Leave the drippings in the pan, reduce the heat to medium, and toast the garlic for about a minute in the drippings. Transfer those to the plate with the sausage.
2. Add the cabbage and the chili (if using). You can add a little olive oil, if needed. Cook, stirring occasionally, until wilted and very tender; about 10 minutes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package instructions. When it’s done, reserve 1 cup of the starchy cooking water. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the spicy cabbage (I like tongs for this job).
4. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, egg, about half of the pecorino, ½ teaspoon salt, and LOTS of freshly cracked black pepper (a tablespoon or so). Add ½ cup of the reserved pasta water, whisking as you do. With the heat off under the pasta, add the egg sauce and toss enthusiastically to get everything nice and coated (again, tongs work best here). When it’s all steaming and hot, the sauce should be thickened and where you want it to be. You can add a little more pasta water to loosen and thin out the sauce, if needed.
5. Add the sausage and crispy garlic to the pasta and toss toss toss. Serve the pasta with more pecorino on top and a drizzle of olive oil to finish, if desired.

If you like the looks of this Pasta with Sausage and Cabbage, you might also enjoy:

Creamy Cauliflower & Sausage Soup with Kale Chips

Tomato and Sausage Rigatoni with Toasted Almonds

Pasta with Mustard Greens and Sausage

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