Tortiglioni with a slow cooked sausage sauce (tortiglioni con sugo di salsiccie)

One of the very first recipes I ever tried from the River Cafe is this fantastic pasta dish. Over the years I've slightly modified it to suit my personal taste, but it a regular dish for me. Guests for supper are always amazed at the range and depth of flavours from  what is a relatively simple dish.

The quality of the sauce relates directly to the quality of the spicy italian sausages, find the very best you can!

Ingredients

olive oil

8 fat, spicy italian pork sausages

1 red onion

2 large shallots

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 dried chillies, crumbled

2 bay leaves

a sprig of rosemary

375 ml (half a bottle) decent red wine

2 x 400 g tinned plum tomatoes

nutmeg to grate

freshly ground black pepper

150 g parmesan cheese, to grate

160 ml double cream

300 g tortiglioni or penne rigate

In a large saucepan, add a little olive oil and gently sweat the red onion, shallots, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and dried chilli. In the meantime take the sausages and remove the meat from the skins  into a bowl and crumble with the back of a fork, not too finely but smaller than bite sized.

Add the crumbled sausage-meat to the pan and fry over a moderate heat, stirring to ensure even cooking. Allow the moisture in the sausages to evaporate off, this should take around 30 minutes.

Now add the wine and cook over a slightly higher heat until all the wine has reduced - this is my favourite part of cooking this dish, the smell is just great! Once the liquid has been reduced, add the tomatoes, lower the heat and allow the sauce to cook slowly for about 1 hour. The result will be a lovely rich, dark, glossy thick sauce ! 

Now season with some grated nutmeg (up to half a nutmeg depending upon personal taste) - I love nutmeg, so often more goes in ! Season further with plenty of freshly ground black pepper. 

Grate 160 g of parmesan cheese and add to the pot with the double cream, stir and keep on the lowest possible heat.

Cook the tortiglioni as per instructions, and when cooked, drain and add to the sauce, ensuring a good even coating throughout. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary sprig,  place in a large serving bowl with a little more parmesan grated over the top with a grind of pepper and serve immediately.

Serve with a hearty red, a chianti possibly ? 

This is a great dish to share amongst the family or a group of friends, good hearty food and good company, what more can you ask for?

Comments

[Gastro1]

I love pasta with a sausage and tomato centric sauce.

My recipe is similar minus the cream and nutmeg and I prefer Spaghetti or even Buccatini - if possible Gragnano Pasta eg Garofalo.

I think it is essential when frying the sausage meat to ensure it browns on the oustside and disposal of all the fat !

[Paul]

Thanks for your comments Gastro1, and I agree re the sausagemeat.

I do find the nutmeg an interesting addition!