G's Almost Famous Sausage Pasta
This delicious sausage pasta is our go-to dinner dish for exhausted (meat-eating) travelers arriving at the farm. It’s fast, easy and always a winner. Serves four.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- box mezze maniche pasta (rigatoni will also work)
- 4 links Italian-style sausage (approx 400 grams)
- ½ cups milk (use a bit more if sauce seems dry)
- ¼ cup canned passata (strained, pureed tomatoes)
- ½ cup shredded pecorino or Parmigiano cheese
Instructions
- Boil salted water for the pasta (we use coarse salt)
- Remove the sausage from its casing and cook in a nonstick skillet over low to medium heat. While the sausage is cooking use a spatula to break it up into tiny pieces as it cooks so it all becomes crumbled. If the sausage renders a lot of fat then remove the fat from the pan with a spoon.
- Once the sausage is cooked through (but not browned or overcooked) add the milk and passata. Stir, and cook for a few minutes on low heat. Once cooked, check taste and season as needed with salt, black pepper and red chili flakes (if desired — see note regarding seasoning). Set cooked sausage aside.
- Cook the pasta 1 minute less than indicated on the box.
- When the pasta is done (firm but cooked), reserve some pasta water in a separate bowl, then drain the pasta.
- Add the sausage mixture to the drained pasta and stir.
- Add a bit of olive oil and most of the cheese and stir. Add in some of the warm pasta water (a bit at a time) to make the sauce silky smooth.
- Serve in bowls and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Notes
Passata: This is simply strained tomatoes, but any unseasoned tomato sauce will work. In the US, POMI is a good option.
Seasoning: Sausage in Italy tends to be more robustly seasoned and leaner. As noted above, you may want to add additional seasonings to your cooked sausage. Never fear; you (or your guests) can also season their potion as needed.