Penne with Sausage, Mushrooms and Collard Greens

It's always exciting to watch the summer fruits transition to fall vegetables. Several farmers had shiitake mushrooms for sale this week. I combined them with a few leaves of collard greens and built a rich pasta sauce. It's a great recipe for this time of year because all the vegetable are in season and available locally.

Penne with Sausage, Mushrooms and Collard Greens

2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs butter
1 pound sausage, casing removed
4 cloves garlic, diced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
5 collard leaves, julienned
1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes or 3-4 fresh
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvingon blanc)
1 tbs fresh parsley or 1 tsp dried
1/2 cup Parmesan or Pecorino cheese
1 box penne

1. In a saucepan add the oil, brown the sausage and remove it from the pan.

2. Fill a pasta pot with water and bring to a boil. Don't forget to add salt to the water. 

3. In the now-empty saucepan, melt the butter, then add the garlic. When the garlic is fragrant but not brown, add the mushrooms.

4. When the mushrooms have released their water, add the collards and tomatoes. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the wine and simmer for 5 more minutes. 

5. Add the sausage, parsley, pasta and cheese. Toss, garnish with additional oil, parsley, collards or cheese and serve.