Penne with Turkey, Sausage, Spinach, and Nutmeg

This recipe comes from the Bon Appetit December 2007 issue. I really liked the dish, but -s just thought it was ok. I omitted the sausage for 2 reasons: (1) a full pound of ground turkey and a full pound of sausage seemed like an awful lot of meat and (2) I’m not a huge fan of sausage. My guess is, since -s loves sausage, had I left that in and omitted the ground turkey he would’ve liked it a lot better.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 pound spicy Italian turkey sausages, casings removed (I omitted)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 pound penne (I used 12 oz of whole wheat pasta)
• 2 6-ounce bags fresh baby spinach leaves
• 3/4 cup freshly grated Asiago cheese or Parmesan cheese (I used pecorino romano), divided

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Add ground turkey and sausages. Saute until cooked through and beginning to brown, breaking up with back of spoon and occasionally scraping bottom of skillet, about 10 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, then cream; bring to simmer. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups cooking liquid.
3. Add pasta to sauce. Cook over medium heat, adding spinach in batches and tossing until wilted. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese and enough cooking liquid to moisten. Transfer to large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese; serve.

Penne with Turkey, Sausage, Spinach, and Nutmeg: