Spring Vegetable Saute with Pesto Pasta and Chicken Sausage {Gluten Free}

We have had the most beautiful weather here in Northern Cali lately and the fresh produce is amazing.  This dish is jam packed with tons of fresh veggies, many of which came in our CSA box this week from Farm Fresh to You.  How pretty is that fun Romanesco?  My boys call is dinosaur broccoli.  I would have put some crisp asparagus in this too but we ate it all when my hubby added it to his Homemade Sushi Rolls the night before.  We added all natural, sweet Italian-style chicken sausage that's casing free and it added a huge punch of flavor; or you can add your favorite meat substitute and make this dish completely vegan.  Serve it all on top of a pile of Quinoa Gluten-Free Pasta coated with our Kale-Basil Pesto for a delicious, Spring-inspired dinner tonight.  Enjoy!

Just for fun I measured all the vegetables I used to give you an idea of volume, should you choose to substitute with veggies you have on hand, and there were 16 cups of chopped vegetables!  16 cups people!  Love that.

Recipe: (serves 6-8)
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
12 oz. mushrooms, sliced (button or baby bella)
1 zucchini, cubed
4-6 small carrots, cubed
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1 head romanesco, cut into florets
12 oz or about 4 cups of haricot verts a.k.a. skinny green beans, cut into thirds 
5 casing-free chicken sausage links, sliced 
4 cups gluten-free quinoa penne style pasta (or any pasta of your choice)
1/4 + Kale-Basil Pesto
salt
reserved pasta cooking water
Parmesan cheese, grated for garnish


Directions:
1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
2. Add mushrooms, zucchini and carrots to a large saute pan and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

3. Saute over medium high heat about 7-10 minutes or until tender but still al dente, then add the sausage stirring often so it has a chance to brown.
4. Once your water is boiling, Add about 1/2 teaspoon salt to the water and add in your pasta.  It's important to under cook it slightly, especially with gluten free pasta.  The package I used says to cook for 6-7 minutes so I cooked it for about 5-6.

5. Before you drain your pasta reserve some of that starchy pasta water.

6. Add in the green beans, spinach and romanesco to your pan and continue to saute.  Add in about 1/4 cup of hot pasta water to create some steam and help deglaze the pan.

7. After you drain your pasta, return it to the warm pot OFF THE HEAT and add in 2 heaping tablespoons of your pesto sauce and a couple tablespoons of the reserved pasta water.  Stir to combine.

8. Add in more pesto and more pasta water until you have the desired amount of sauce.  I went alittle heavy on the pesto because we love it and so that it would stand up well with all the sauteed veggies.

9. To plate, add some pasta to your plates then top with colorful and tasty veggies!

Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan cheese if you like and enjoy!

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