Sausage and Pepper Pasta

This dish hits all of the notes. Calamarata pasta, sweet bell peppers, acidic cherry tomatoes along with spicy italian sausage to balance it out.

The month of August is always a bittersweet month to me. The weather is still warm and days are long. But in the back of my mind I know that comfort food and cooler weather are on their way. (which is totally my jam, but I love long sunny days)

So this dish is the perfect mix of both. Fresh in season vegetables and the comfort of a warm pasta dish.

Before jumping into the recipe there is a subject that crossed my mind over the weekend. It is the term “Season to taste.”

There are a million and one recipes out there that say “season to taste.” As straight forward as it sounds, I think it can be a bit confusing. So here I go into a little deep dive about what this means.

1. Salt- Depending on what salt you have at home this will change the amount you use to season a dish. (I briefly touched on this previously but I feel like it’s always something useful to remember). This also depends on your flavor preference. Some like saltier food, some like less, as well as dietary restrictions/needs.

   1. Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt- Snow Flake Salt, irregular shaped, mild saltiness. Most popular (my salt of choice for cooking) Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is the *chef approved and kristen approved* salt.

   2. Fine Sea Salt- A bit saltier than kosher. 1 tsp Kosher = 3/4 tsp Seas Salt. Great for baking due to its more uniform shape and fine grain, typically more expensive

   3. Table Salt- Typically fine and more salty than sea salt or kosher salt.

   4. Himalayan Salt- I swear this is the perfect example of the Pink Tax. It has no scientific research supporting that it’s healthier for you, it’s just more expensive than traditional salt.

   5. Flaky Salt- Expensive. Use this for final garnishing, don’t use this to cook with.

2. Pepper/Red Pepper Flakes

   1. Black Pepper- Adds a mild heat to a dish. Unless you’re making a black pepper centered dish, go easy on the pepper.

   2. Red Pepper Flakes- Used in most sauces, sausage, and Italian dishes. This does add quite a large kick of heat so go easy on the spice level. I personally love some spice but typically stick between 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp.

So moral of the story is once you learn your seasonings/spices and what they exactly add to a dish the easier you will understand how to season to your taste.