Region: Italy
Category: Pasta with Sausage
Season: Fall
Difficulty: Easy but long cooking time
This recipe inspired by the cooking of Campania is an old home-style favorite that we cook often in my family. This delicious meal is not laden with many ingredients, just the best quality of a few. Perciatelli is another name for bucatini, a large spaghetti with a little hole in the middle. If you don’t make your own sausages or if you are just not interested in learning how, buy the best quality store-bought sausages.
Yield: Makes 4 servings
Preparation Time: 1:20 hours in all
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, in 2 slices, cut into thin strips
1 3/4 pounds crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 pound fresh homemade mild Italian sausages (preferably)
1 pound perciatelli (bucatini)
1/2 pound fresh ricotta cheese
1. In a flame-proof casserole, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then cook the pancetta until slightly crispy, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 1 hour.
2. Puncture the sausages and place in a skillet with a 1/2 inch of water. Bring the water to just below a boil and poach the sausages for 10 minutes so they will emit some of their fat. Drain the sausages and add the tomato sauce.
3. Meanwhile, for every pound of pasta, bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil over high heat, salt abundantly with up to 1/2 cup of salt, then add the pasta in handfuls. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally so the pasta doesn’t stick together, until al dente. Drain without rinsing.
Transfer the pasta to the casserole and toss with the sauce. Transfer the pasta to a serving bowl or platter and crumble the ricotta cheese on top and push it down into the pasta. Serve immediately.
Posted: 12/21/2006
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