I cooked a 500 g package of casarecce and did not need all of it. I usually cook too much and prefer to have more than I need.
for 6 servings you will need six cups of cooked pasta.

Casarecce is my very favourite shape of pasta. I find it to be versatile and it’s also pretty. I like pasta imported from Italy, just as I like tomatoes that are imported from Italy.

Here is the recipe I created today. It was delicious and I hope you enjoy it too.

500 G package of Casarecce
1 TBLSP. olive oil
1 medium onion chopped fine
1/4 jalapeno pepper chopped fine
3 cloves garlic diced fine
1 cup finely chopped kale
*optional: 1 cup finely diced yellow and orange peppers,
5 sliced mushrooms
1 small can V8 juice
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp, black pepper (I like course black pepper but it has a bit more kick than fine pepper)
1 LB. ground chicken
2 cups grated parmigiano (or a couple of rinds you have left over. keep them in the freezer in a ziploc bag. They add a lot of flavour to lots of different dishes)
1/2 cup red wine
2 TBLSP. good balsamic vinegar (until recently I did not know there was a difference between balsamic vinegars. There is!)

start your water boiling in a large pot for the pasta. Always use a large pot so there is room for your pasta to expand.
add 1 tsp. salt to your water.

in a separate pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat for 1 minute. Add onions and cook for three minutes.
add jalapeno and cook for one minute.
turn heat to medium high add chicken. Add salt and pepper and Continue to cook chicken until pink is gone. (about now you should add pasta to the water pot.)
reduce heat to medium. You want it to simmer but not to boil. There will be some juice in the bottom of the pan, which is a good thing.
add garlic and continue to cook for three minutes
add V8 juice, balsamic and wine. reduce heat to medium low. A slow simmer.
If you have some pieces of parm rind, add it to this meat mixture and continue to cook. If you do not have the rind but you have grated some parmesan, keep it separate until you are ready to serve your dish.

cook the pasta until el dente. put 1/4 cup of the pasta water in the meat mixture and stir before draining the pasta.

NOW
add pasta to the meat mixture until you have the desired amount. Don’t just dump it in. You will end up with too much. Put half the pasta into the meat mixture and add it a bit at a time until you have enough.

Stir and serve immediately with a green salad or vegetable of your choice.