Region: Italy
Category: Pasta with Sausage
Season: Any
Difficulty: Easy and Quick
Although the thick red sauces of Italian-American cooking got a bad rap
starting around 1982 I still love thick (although not copious) tomato sauces that remind me of my mother's Italian cooking. The secret is: go ahead and use the thick red sauce but just don’t drown the pasta like they used to in the past. Bits of Italian sausage and rosemary make the sauce flavorful and filling. Here's a fast way to prepare it.
[photo: Clifford A. Wright]
Yield: Makes 2 servings
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
5 tablespoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
5 ounces mild Italian sausage (about 1 link), casing removed and crumbled
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 cups chopped plum tomatoes, with their liquid
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 pound spaghetti
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to taste
1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat, then cook the onion until translucent, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes while stirring and breaking the meat up. Add the white wine and let it reduce for 1 to 2 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes and the rosemary. Partially cover the skillet so the sauce doesn’t splatter and continue cooking over high heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
2. 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.
3. Transfer the pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce and serve with parmigiano cheese.
Variation:
Note:
Posted: 12/21/2006