The Palme d'Or award-winning director and painter shares his own pasta take on sausage and pineapple.
In Season 6 of the Sex and the City series, aspiring actor Smith Jerrod, Samantha Jones’ latest romantic conquest, gets his big break when he’s cast to star in a film directed by Gus Van Sant. Jerrod’s career subsequently explodes, and though he may be a fictional creation, the same has unfolded for actors and collaborators lucky enough to work with the legendary director, screenwriter, editor, and producer in real life. A career spanning the last four decades, Van Sant’s cinematic language has proven to be inventive and fearless. A masterful storyteller at heart, he’s often chosen to focus on characters labeled as difficult by society. From 1991’s My Own Private Idaho and 1997’s Good Will Hunting all the way to 2008’s Milk, Van Sant’s directorial style tends to tickle just enough to cause viewers to reflect and rejoice at the same time. The recipe he chose to share with Family Style is one he’s worked on over the years. “It's something I can be proud of as my own invention—although it sort of came from cooking with other non-cooks in college,” Van Sant explains. He notes the recipe is good with or without Italian sausage and that charing all ingredients is key. This dish just might be the perfect meal to devour over spaghetti as you wonder whose side to take while watching Van Sant’s latest endeavor, his directorial TV debut, the upper-class drama Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.
Ingredients
- Tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ cup sausage cut into about half-inch to 1-inch sizes
- ½ cup pineapple
- ½ cup bell pepper
- ½ cup onion
- ½ cup mushrooms
- ¼ cup garlic
- Fresh parmesan
- Black pepper
- ½ cup red wine
- Marinara sauce
- Herbs and spices of your choice
Instructions
- Cover and cook on low heat, stirring every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes or until the onion carmelizes. The idea is to kind of blacken the pieces.
- Boil spaghetti.
- Add spaghetti sauce with red wine and bring up to simmer for a few minutes. Add spices you like.
- Serve over spaghetti with grated parmesan and black pepper.