Orecchiette with turkey sausage and arugula

Today I took down all of our Christmas ornaments and stored them away until next year. I'm already anxious about decorating for next Christmas. This year's theme was 'gilver', a combination of gold and silver. I really loved the glitter and sparkle.

For lunch, I made myself a nice bowl of orecchiette pasta with a creamy turkey sauce. A light and low calorie pasta dish.  The sauce had the right touch of wine, and you can never go wrong with fresh arugula.

This pasta does not take long to cook. Be sure to prep all of your ingredients before you start the cooking process. Unfortunately, I started my sauce before cutting the cherry tomatoes and it caused me to cook my sauce a bit too long. Luckily, it still turned out perfect.

Cooking and eating this pasta dish was a nice break from working so hard on taking down all of those Christmas ornaments. Now I have all year to plan next year's theme....I'm thinking of a White Christmas.

Serves 6 as starter, 3 as a main


3 cups orecchiette pasta, cooked according to package


1 red onion, chopped


1 garlic clove, minced


1-pint cherry tomatoes, halved


3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


1-pound lean Italian turkey sausage, sweet or spicy, casing removed


½ cup white wine


1 cup half & half


2 cups arugula


Salt and pepper to taste


Freshly grated Pecorino Romano, to serve


Start boiling the water for the pasta.

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and add onion, cook until softened and slightly browned. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 30 seconds. Crumble in the turkey sausage and continue to break up with a wooden spoon, continue frying until browned. Now add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes, then add the wine, let it bubble for a few moments, add the cream.

At this point, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Do not strain.

Continue to cook the turkey sauce for approximately 5 minutes, then using a strainer, add the pasta (and a little pasta water) to the sauce. Add the arugula and cook until wilted and the pasta coated in the sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grated Pecorino on top.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 200 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 254 Calories from Fat 170

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18.9g 29%

Saturated Fat 5.7g 28%

Cholesterol 61mg 20%

Sodium 485mg 20%

Total Carbohydrates 4.6g 2%

Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3%

Sugars 1.7g

Protein 14.0g

Vitamin A 14% • Vitamin C 13% Calcium 7% • Iron 2%

Nutrition Grade D-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet