I have a complicated relationship with Beyond Meat– I like the way it tastes and I love the way it marries with all kinds of flavorings but it feels, handles and cooks so much like meat that I get a little squeamish handling it. I do like the sausages though- I used the regular one for this recipe, the hot Italian sausage is even better.

This is a pasta sauce based on Italian seasonings- rosemary, capers, oregano, fennel, tomatoes, red chillies (kind of like a cioppino without the seafood of course). This is one of my no-recipe recipes- I just keep the flavor profile similar each time.

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil, add 1 tsp of fennel seeds, 1-2 dried red chillies (or red pepper flakes), 1 tsp of chopped rosemary, half a diced red onion, 1 diced jalapeno pepper ( I didn’t have any sweet peppers),  sliced Beyond Sausage. Cook for 5 minutes till the sausage is browned. Add 1 small can of tomatoes (pureed), scrape up any brown bits. Add 3 chopped cloves of garlic, 1-2 tsp of capers and 1 tsp of oregano flakes. Cook for 10 minutes. In the meanwhile, boil water, salt and cook pasta. About 2 minutes before the pasta is finally done, add 2 handfuls of spinach and wilt the spinach. Add the pasta, 1-2 tbsp of butter and 1-2 ladlefuls of pasta water (to make the pasta silky). The butter is optional, good olive oil works just as well. Serve with some parmesan grated on top.