Orecchiete are like little spoons that cup the ingredients and ensure you get a little bit of all the flavors in every bite. This is a particularly fast dish to put together.

　　

Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

　　1 pound orecchiette or other small shaped pasta

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　1/2 pound turkey sausage, casings removed

　　1 small onion, chopped

　　1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

　　2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves

　　1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

　　1 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.

　　

Step 2

In a large, heavy skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and onion and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the sausage into bite-size pieces as it browns. Continue cooking until the sausage is golden and the onion is tender. Add the beans and oregano and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking water and stir, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the mascarpone cheese and stir until it dissolves into a light sauce. Add the salt, pepper, and hot pasta. Stir until coated, and serve.

　　Reprinted with permission from Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites by Giada De Laurentiis. Copyright © 2008 by Giada De Laurentiis. Published by Crown Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Giada De Laurentiis is the star of Food Network's Everyday Italian and Behind the Bash. She attended the Cordon Bleu in Paris, and then worked in a variety of Los Angeles restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck's Spago, before starting her own catering and private-chef company, GDL Foods. The granddaughter of movie producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada was born in Rome and grew up in Los Angeles, where she now lives.