Zucchini Noodles with Spicy Cherry Tomato, Sausage, Garlic, and Herb Sauce

Ingredients

• 4-6 zucchini
• 5 links uncooked hot turkey Italian sausage
• 4 cups cherry tomato halves
• 6 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 T minced fresh garlic
• 1-2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 T chopped fresh Greek oregano
• 3 T chopped fresh basil
• 3 T chopped flat or curly parsley
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions

1. Warm 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy non-stick frying pan. Remove the sausage from its casings, add it to the pan, and cook over medium heat until it is cooked through and beginning to brown, about 8-10 minutes. Break it into small pieces as it cooks.
2. While the sausage is on the stove, halve the cherry tomatoes until you have 4 cups sliced cherry tomatoes. Mince enough garlic for 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic. Rinse the Greek oregano, basil, and parsley, strip the oregano and basil leaves from their stems, and chop the herbs.
3. Use one of the Three Ways to Make Vegetable Noodles to prepare enough zucchini noodles for the number of people you are serving. Grate the Parmesan cheese.
4. Once the sausage is browned, transfer it out of the pan and set it aside. Add the 6 tablespoons of olive oil to that same pan and warm it over medium heat for about 1 minute. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1-2 minutes, watching so the garlic does not brown.
5. Add the cherry tomatoes and cook for about 4 minutes, just until they begin to soften. Stir the cooked sausage back into the pan with the chopped oregano, chopped basil, and chopped parsley, then cook for about 4 minutes more.
6. As the sauce is finishing, warm the final tablespoon of olive oil in a separate pan over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini noodles and cook for about 2 minutes, turning them now and then. You want them just tender, with a bit of crispness still left. Divide the hot noodles among individual pasta bowls, spoon plenty of sauce over each serving, and finish with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.