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Pasta with Peas and Sausage

We had this for dinner tonight. It is perhaps one of my weirder creations but I love it. Actually, it's not that the combination of ingredients is weird, it's my method that is unconventional. I puree the peas to make a green sauce. I've seen this done as a topping for bruschetta, but never as a sauce for pasta. It's a shame because it's really good. And you can easily make this vegetarian by eliminating the sausage.

1 lb whole wheat short pasta (penne, rotini, fusilli, etc.)

500g bag frozen organic sweet green peas
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 lb spicy Italian turkey sausage, or any sausage you like, sliced into bite sized pieces
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup white wine

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

Pour peas, garlic and stock into a large sauce pan and simmer until peas are cooked but still bright green. Let cool and then transfer into food processor and process until almost smooth (I like a bit of texture). Add more stock if necessary, but should be thick puree. Brown sausage over medium heat in large skillet. Add fennel seeds. Deglaze pan with white wine and turn heat down to low. Pour in pea puree. Right before you drain pasta, add a few ladels of pasta cooking water to pea/sausage mixture to thin it out to desired consistency. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Mix all ingredients until pasta is evenly coated in sauce. Add liberal amounts of fresh parmesan or romano cheese.

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