Lazy Creamy Pasta

I was a little surprised as to how this dish came out. The paprika coloured the sauce more than I was expecting, and the sauce was also a bit runnier, even though I’d upped the amount of flour. Then again, I must confess that I used a saucepan instead of a frying pan. It was a reflex, since I was making sauce, but I realize that may be the problem. So I’ll give you the recipe as it appeared on The Kitchn and I’ll let you see for yourselves. It was a good recipe, though, just not quite the creaminess I was expecting.

1 Tbsp flour
1 cup milk
4 oz sausage, uncooked
3 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 medium tomato
8 oz penne (or your favourite short pasta; I used gemelli)
1 Tbsp mustard
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp paprika (sweet or smoked)
pinch of salt

Put water on the stove to boil.
Mix flour and milk. Set aside.
Chop sausage into bite size pieces (about ½-inch cubes). Chop onion and tomato. Mince garlic.

Water should be boiling now. Add penne.
Sauté sausage until cooked, about 1 or 2 minutes. Set aside.




Cook garlic and onion in the same pan. If the sausage did not leave sufficient fat in the pan, add about ½ Tbsp of olive oil or butter (fat is necessary to thicken the sauce).

After 2 or 3 minutes (when onion is soft and garlic is just browning), add tomato and cook for about 1 minute more.
Add mustard, balsamic vinegar, and paprika to pan and stir for a moment.
Add milk and flour mixture. Stir until sauce is thickened.
Add salt to taste.

Drain penne. Mix with sauce and serve.