Tuesday Night Recipe

Fiery Wagon Wheels (serves 6)
*This recipe is from "Everyday with Rachael Ray" It calls for 1 1/2 lb. boneless pork loin roast which is ground in a food processor with spices. I substituted the ground spicy pork sausage*

1 1/2 lb. Spicy pork sausage, casings removed
1 lb. rotelle pasta (wagon wheels)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb. cremini mushrooms, quartered
7 cloves garlic, coursely chopped
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced (set aside 2 scallions, white parts only for a later recipe)
One 28-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes (if you can't find fire-roasted, use regular)
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

1) In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 2 cups of the pasta cooking water, and transfer to a large serving bowl.
2) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 Tbls. olive oil over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the garlic and scallion whites and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their liquid and simmer for 10 minutes.
3) In a large skillet, heat the remaining 2 Tbls. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring frequently and crumbling the meat, for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Transfer to the tomato sauce. Add 1 cup pasta cooking water to the skillet and scrape up the browned bits; add to the sauce.
4) Simmer the sauce over low heat for 5 minutes. Pour over the pasta; add the parsley, scallion greens and cheese and toss, adding more pasta water if necessary. Pass extra Parmesan at the table.