Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 lb whole grain pasta
• ¾ Cup basil or parsley pesto
• Bleu cheese (or gorgonzola) to taste
• 1 ½ cups chopped fresh tomatoes

Sauce:

• 1 lb spicy Italian sausage (Graziano Brothers in Des Moines)
• Onions and garlic sautéed in olive oil
• 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes in their juice
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup chopped parsley including stems
• ½ cup Parmesan or Romano cheese
• ½ cup bleu cheese or Gorgonzola

Directions

Brown the sausage. Sautée onions and garlic in olive oil. Combine. To this add the canned tomatoes, spices, chopped parsley, Parmesan or Romano, and ½ cup of bleu cheese. Simmer for about 1 hour. Cook the pasta al dente. Toss the pasta with the sauce. Then toss with pesto, fresh tomatoes and top with crumbled cheese. The idea is to have the fresh tomatoes and pesto only warmed by the other ingredients, not cooked.