Italian sausage & Spinach Roux (for cheese-stuffed noodles)

Note: This recipe was largely improvised so most of the ingredient amounts are approximate. Measure with your heart and with your eyes.



Ingredients: 

• 1 package of Costco cheese-stuffed noodles,
• 1/2 snack-sized ziplok of italian sausage,
• 12-15 slices of chorizo sausage, diced into even smaller pieces,
• 1 small red onion or 1/2 a large yellow onion, diced,
• ~1/4 cup flour,
• 1/2 to 1/3 block of frozen spinach,
• ~2 cups milk,
• ~1/5 of a block of mozzarella, grated or crumbled,
• 6-8 slices of sharp white cheddar, crumbled,
• Black pepper to taste
  (Optional, to taste/for garnish):
• tomatoes (chopped)
• spicy red pepper flakes
• parmesan.

 

Instructions: 

1. Set a large pot of water on the stove on high and add in the cheese-stuffed noodle as soon as it boils. Reduce the heat to medium once the noodles have been added and cook until al dente.
   
   
2. While the pasta cooks, prepare the sauce: In a separate (heavy-bottomed) medium saucepan, defrost and render the fats out of the italian sausage and chorizo. Start on a low heat so as to not burn them, until the meat is defrosted and the juices collect at the bottom of the pan and begin to form a fond (but not burn!).
   
   
3. Raise the heat until the oil spits when a small amount of water is added. Throw in the onions into the hot pan until the onions start to brown on the outside (they will finish cooking with the rest of the sauce).
   
   3.5. (Optional) If the pan starts to glaze too much, burn at the bottom, or if the meat starts to get too dark while you're trying to brown the onions, you can spoon in some of the pasta water a little early and keep cooking the onions while it evaporates. 
   
   
4. Once the onions are lightly browned, spoon in 2-5 (big serving-spoon sized) spoonfuls of the pasta water (from step 1, while the noodles are boiling), just enough to coat the meat and onions and begin to absorb the fond but not enough to make the mixture soupy/not enough for the liquid to pool too much at the bottom.
   
   
5. Reduce to medium heat and mix in flour until the liquids are a pasty, almost dough-like texture/thickness.
   
   
6. Slowly spoon in a few (5-7) more spoonfuls of pasta water while vigorously mixing until the paste is thoroughly dissolved and there's a small pool of brown liquid at the bottom of the pot.
   
   
7. Before adding any dairy, add spinach and any other frozen vegetables. Heat and mix until at least mostly defrosted.
   
   
8. Begin mixing in milk in small portions, waiting until the milk is fully dissolved before adding more. Keep adding milk until desired thickness.
   
   
9. Keep heating sauce on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it starts to simmer/until you begin to hear bubbles but before you can see the bubbles rise.
   
   
10. Remove from heat and slowly add in cheese(s) while stirring until all the cheese is melted.
    
    
11. Add black pepper and any other seasonings. Leave on lowest heat setting, stirring occasionally, until the pasta noodles are ready.

(Optional)
Garnish with fresh tomatoes (if you do add them make sure to add them last & on top and/or serve them separately, not mixed in. They made the sauce separate last time as soon as they were mixed in but tasted really yummy), parmesan, and spicy pepper flakes. 

Enjoy! :)

Notes: 
- I imagine this would taste great with some gouda in it as well as and/or instead of the sharp white cheddar.

- It would probably be fine with even more spinach, but previous experiments have shown that it very easily gets to be too much pretty quickly and can overpower the rest of the flavours. Add extra with caution.

- Though adding the pasta water (and using proper form when mixing in the dairy) does a lot of the heavy lifting of giving that sauce a smooth texture, some sour cream would probably make it taste a lot creamier. Experiment with that for next time?

- The spinach, the pasta noodles, and both types of sausage are all great sources of iron. While yes, the amount of calcium from the milk and cheese in this dish can inhibit some of the absorption of the iron from the spinach (a.k.a. nonheme iron) ("It has been shown that calcium inhibits nonheme-iron absorption by 40–60% at doses between 165 and 300 mg, and that there is no further inhibition as the dose exceeds 300 mg ", a dosage of calcium around what you'll find in about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce), and the iron from the meat (a.k.a. heme-iron) ("The addition of 450 mg calcium [...] inhibited heme-iron absorption by ≈27% with both meals"), I would still classify this as a high-iron dish because you're still going to absorb a very significant amount of iron from the high quantity of sausage, spinach, and fortified pasta (no idea what kind of iron the pasta has) in this dish.