Bucatini Pasta with Italian Sausage & Sautéed Fiddleheads

Everyone will be asking for seconds of this extremely satisfying dish.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh pasta of your choice, such as this week’s bucatini
1 sweet onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups fiddlehead ferns, washed and patted dry with a paper towel
1 bunch Lacinato kale, greens removed from tough rib ends and then roughly chopped
4 tablespoons freshly-chopped herbs, such as a combination of basil, parsley and oregano
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus an additional tablespoon for finishing
Grana-style cheese, grated
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:
1. Cook the pasta for 5-7 minutes in a pot of heavily salted water until al dente, or just cooked through with a bit of bite left. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water, then drain, and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, slice the Italian sausage links into bite-sized rounds and cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink on the inside. Remove the sausage to a plate and set aside.

3. Wipe any excess grease from the skillet with a paper towel, then drizzle in 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add in the onion, garlic and fiddleheads and sauté until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the chopped kale and continue to sauté, stirring until the kale is just wilted.

4. Add the pasta and sausage back into the skillet and toss to combine with the fiddlehead-kale mixture; seasoning with salt and pepper. Add in the herbs and toss once more; if the pasta seems a little dry, moisten with the reserved pasta water. Finish by sprinkling each serving with grated Grana-style cheese and an additional swirl of olive oil.