Italian sausage pasta – a recipe post

This has been a recipe I’ve been messing with and tweaking around for some time. There have been several scrawled hand written ingredient lists and methods left around on dog eared bits of paper. I am a fiend for reusing paper, so some versions were written on the back of printouts of Powerpoint slides for my classes. It’s all reusing, right? But when I dig them up again, they’re always a funny reminder of how the facets of my life are so very different.

The variations I have explored are: fennel sausages or plain? Garlic or no garlic? Wine or no wine? Cream or no cream? Tomato puree and tomatoes or just fresh tomatoes?

 

[Other variations could be: basil or oregano? Wine, vodka, or no alcohol at all? Parmesan or Grano Padano?] 

 

The sausages here are not just British bangers. These are Italian sausages with very high (pork) meat content, making them very dense. This is why I think they’re perfect for skinning and crumbling up into a sauce. I like the fennel flavoured Italian sausages, but if you don’t like this flavour, use plain.

 

In the end, this is what I arrived at. The tomato stem part of the recipe was inspired by seeing “Roasting Tin” cookbook author Rukmini Ayer on the TV saying that her top cooking tip for intensifying tomato aroma and flavour was to save up the stems and add to soups, sauces and stews. It was a solid cooking hack I have been using ever since. (Don't forget to fish them out before serving, though!)

 

 

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

2 echalion shallots, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced across their width with the slices cut into 3 or 4

4 Tuscan sausages or 5 smaller Fennel Italian sausages

250-275g cherry or similar small, ripe tomatoes, diced

Any tomato stems you may have

1/4 (quarter) teaspoon dried oregano or half a teaspoon of fresh

60 ml white wine

1/2 teaspoon plain flour

60 ml double cream

3 tbsp fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

250g dried pasta of your choice, I used bronze die extruded fusilli

4-5 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

If you don’t have fennel sausages and like the flavour, a pinch of fennel seeds

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

 

You will need

Two saucepans, a colander, a fine grater, Knife/chopping board

 

Instructions

Put some water on to boil to make your pasta. Add salt to the water.

The sausages need to be peeled and crumbled up first. I use a sharp knife to cut the skin along the length of the sausages very shallowly, so the skin can just be pulled off. Break up into chunks.

 

 

 

Add the olive oil to a frying pan on a medium heat. Fry the shallots for 5 minutes.

 

Then add the garlic and lower the heat. Cook for 3 minutes.

 

At around this time put your pasta on. Cook it to the Al Dente time on the packet if you like it cooked. Or take a minute or even two off the Al Dente time if you like it Al Dente. (It will be cooked again at the end.) Drain the pasta and reserve a little pasta water in case you need to loosen up the pasta and sauce later. Do not rinse the pasta!

 

Now add the sausage meat, raising the heat back to a medium heat. If you want to add the pinch of fennel seeds, add them now.

 

Fry off for 7-8 minutes, until they have changed colour. If you've crumbled up into small pieces, you might need less time here.

 

Turn the heat off and take everything out of the pan, leaving on a plate near the hob.

 

Put the heat back into a medium high heat. Now add the wine to the pan. When bubbling, add the flour. Stir thoroughly. Keep stirring until you can't smell raw wine any more.

 

Add the tomatoes and any stems and oregano and cook for 5-7 minutes. You want the tomatoes to start breaking down and for the juices to escape the tomatoes and begin to thicken.

 

Add the sausage meat back in and combine thoroughly. Make sure the meat is heated through.

 

Once warmed through, add the cream, stirring constantly. Once combined, reduce the heat to low.

 

Now add the chopped basil and mix through. Remove the tomato stems.

 

 

Add the cooked pasta. Mix everything together, keeping it moving. If you think it needs loosening up, add some of the pasta water and mix through to the desired consistency. When all warmed through, and at a hardness you like your pasta at, serve in bowls. Top with the Parmesan cheese.

 

 

Enjoy immediately.

Creamy chicken with mushrooms and cider

Ooh, November, you are naughty! The sudden drop in the temperature has left me a little lost for words. The autumnal jackets and macs I thought I could wear a little longer will have to be put away, in favour of my heavy, warm wintry coats. The gloves are being dug out for another season's service; thank goodness for my fleecy leather gloves! Anyone who knows me knows I always have cold, cold hands. I have fingers like ice cubes!

The household vacillations over whether to put the heating on or not have stopped. The heating is most definitely on. My new electric blanket is currently my favourite appliance; taking the chill out of my bed before I turn in at night.

Inspired by the weather, I have been thinking about internal central heating. By which I mean warming, comforting food for shivery days. Elizabeth David's Spicy Lentil Stew has been a lifesaver recently, a number of variations described by her in the recipe ringing the changes. Soups, curries, stews and slow braises are the things I crave when it's brisk and nippy.

So, on a cold Sunday, I thought of hearty pasta with a creamy and indulgent sauce. Tender chicken and just-cooked mushrooms with a touch of booze. Stews made with beer and ale favour darker meats. Chicken thighs (the brown meat of the chicken) cooked in vintage cider

This creamy chicken dish could be served up with rice, mash or baked potatoes. But I love pasta, so I used some Spatzle, a chewy egg pasta typically used in German, Swiss, Austrian and Hungarian cooking.

Creamy chicken with mushrooms and cider (with Spatzle pasta)

Serves 2-3 people (2 greedy portions or 3 normal portions)
 
Ingredients:
2 large echalion shallots (peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced finely)
4 chicken thigh fillets, sliced
160g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
3 anchovy fillets (preserved in olive oil or salt)
1 teaspoon paprika
60ml double cream
200ml vintage cider
3 tablespoons olive oil (2tbsp + 1tbsp)
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
Juice of half a lemon (optional)
250g egg spatzle pasta 
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
Freshly ground sea salt (to taste)

Time required:
10 minutes preparation
40 minutes cooking time

Equipment:
Two saucepans
Frying pan

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan, add the shallots and soften under a gentle heat for around 10 minutes. Do not allow to colour. 

2. Remove the shallots, keeping to one side, trying your best to leave as much of the oil in the pan. Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat up. 

3. Add the chicken in small batches. You want to seal the outside of the chicken slices so that they are no longer pink, buy you don't want to cook them completely. 

4. When you have cooked the last batch, put all the chicken to one side.  Hopefully, your pan still has residual olive oil in it. If not, you will need to add half a tablespoon. On a gentle heat, add the anchovies and paprika, and stir until the anchovies have disintegrated into the oil. 

 
 

5. Now put the shallots and chicken back, turn up the heat and stir until the chicken is coated with the oily mixture.

6. You will want to put a pan of water on for the Spatzle pasta. Mine took 11 minutes to cook, so you will need to ensure the pasta is cooking during the following two steps of the recipe, or you won't be able to bring the dish together.  

7. Add the cider to the chicken and "burn off" the alcohol smell on a medium-high heat. The cider will come to the boil and bubble. You aren't actually burning off the alcohol, but you will notice the smell becomes less boozy. When this happens (5-7 minutes), reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for another 7 to 10 minutes. 

 














8. In the meantime, in a frying pan melt the butter, then add the mushrooms. You want to cook these on a gentle heat for about 7 minutes until just tender. Do not overcook or they will become too soft and slimy to add to the chicken.

 



9. Add the cream to the cidery chicken and fold in the mushrooms. Let everything sit on the heat for a few minutes to get heated through. Add the parsley. Taste and season accordingly (if you used anchovies preserved in salt, you may find you don't need to add much salt). Add the lemon juice to your preference. 

10. Drain your pasta, and begin assembling the dish in bowls ready for serving. Put some pasta at the bottom of a bowl. Add the chicken with some of its sauce on top. Serve immediately. It would look prettier if you garnish with a little double cream and parsley, but I was too hungry and wanted to eat straight away!

Happy eating!

Pasta Casareccia - a Linda Poulnott guest recipe post special

Those who are regular readers of my blog or are connected to my social media mutterings will be aware that I was fortunate enough to have Linda Poulnott write some wonderful food/recipe posts for my blog on the subject of Neapolitan (Southern) Italian cooking.

Linda, originally from Scotland, has lived for over 20 years in the Bay of Naples, where she has dedicated herself to learning the language, culture and food heritage of this amazing part of southern Italy, famous for inventing pizza.

I met Linda online, and was astonished about how much we had in common, despite being separated by a huge distance. Like me, she teaches for a living, and we both love music, guitars, food, wine, cooking in and eating out. I am lucky to know her and we are all fortunate that she is happy to share her culinary skill and knowledge with us all.

Linda Poulnott

Linda’s hassle free and simple approach to Italian food reflects her learning from locals. There aren’t dozens of ingredients and deeply complex preparation techniques. A focus on bringing out the best from quality ingredients is the key.

In case you didn’t get the chance to read them the first time, here are links to Linda’s previous brilliant and helpful posts:

Pasta with Broccoli: http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/pasta-with-broccoli-guest-post-by-linda.html

Parmigiana di Melanzane (Neapolitan Baked Aubergines): http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/parmigiana-di-melanzane-guest-post-by.html

Risotto con Funghi Misti (Risotto with mixed mushrooms):  http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/risotto-con-funghi-misti-guest-post-by.html

How to cook like a Neapolitan Mamma (food and cooking advice): http://snigskitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/come-facette-mammeta-guest-post-by.html

This recipe is a pasta bake, and I have often heard Italians and those who love Italian food recommend the De Cecco brand of pasta as being one of the most authentic and reliable available outside of Italy. Linda has helpfully provided a photo of the packet of pasta she has used so that you can find it for yourself. 

I am fortunate enough to have a delightful Italian deli near me in Lewis Grove, Lewisham (south east London) which stocks De Cecco pastas, but some larger supermarkets also stock this brand.

My heartfelt thanks go to Linda for writing yet another recipe post and for her enthusiasm for spreading the real food of southern Italy.

If you have any questions, please feel free to either ask Linda on twitter as she is always helpful and friendly (just look out for @nnamorata) or post in the comments below. Any thank yous I am sure would be appreciated by Linda, so do reach out!

Buon appetito, readers! Now to hand over to Linda, the main event!

Firstly, I would like to thank Snigdha for giving me the chance to submit another recipe to her food blog. Hopefully, I can pass on some more of the local cooking tips that I've picked up over the many years of living in the bay of Naples.

As I have said before, the secret of good Neapolitan cooking is keeping it simple. Never drown your dishes in strong herbs and spices or flood them in lemon juice. The natural flavour of whatever you are cooking should always be paramount. Let it shine through!

PASTA CASARECCIA AL FORNO

This tasty dish is very easy to make and can be kept covered in the fridge to be reheated when you come home from work the next day. Cooked ham or pancetta is usually included in the recipe, but if you are vegetarian you can leave this out.

It's very "moreish", so I recommend that you make more than you really need (as long as you're not counting calories of course!). It's lovely eaten with a green salad to accompany it.

YOU WILL NEED

A large frying pan

A medium sized saucepan

A wooden spoon

A sieve or colander to drain the pasta

A casserole type oven dish

INGREDIENTS FOR 2 PEOPLE

250g of Casareccia shaped dry pasta (or if you can't find this, use any fusilli or tube type pasta. It will work just as well.)

200ml of single cream or cooking cream

1 small tin of garden peas or about 140g of frozen peas

30/40g of either chopped sliced cooked ham (you can use chopped pancetta or salami instead)

A few glugs of dry white wine

A few glugs of olive oil

A handful of grated grated parmesan (use pecorino or even cheddar if you don't have it) plus extra if you wish to add some to the breadcrumb topping

Half a cup of breadcrumbs (I usually buy the pre-prepared packs in the supermarket), please use natural breadcrumbs, not the orange dyed ones

Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to about 160 degrees C.

2. Heat up the frying pan over a medium heat add a couple of glugs of olive oil plus the ham, then after a minute or two add the drained peas. At this point, I also add the wine and reduce it.

3. Whilst the wine is reducing (which will take around 7 minutes), add salted, boiling water to a saucepan and start cooking the pasta. Locals keep some of the water that the pasta is cooked in, as it's starchy and great to use if you need more liquid in your sauce mix. Keep about half a mug full.

4. Once the wine has reduced I usually mash half of the pea mixture with my spoon until it resembles mushy peas. Add the cream and a little of the pasta water. Cook for another few minutes stirring occasionally and checking that the sauce doesn't dry out. If it does, add a little more of the pasta water.

5. When the sauce is ready, throw in a handful of grated parmesan and mix it through. It's best to salt and pepper to taste at this point, as adding the cheese will already make it quite salty. Add the cooked drained pasta and mix together.

6. Put the pasta mix in a casserole or oven dish but don't cover it. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

7. Bake in your preheated oven (at about 160 degrees C) for approximately 15 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden.

8.Serve and enjoy. Buon appetito!

My thanks once again to Linda Poulnott for providing this guest blog post and recipe. I have not received any form of incentive for posting it. However, even more surprising is the face that Linda has not received any form of payment or incentive (financial or otherwise) for writing this recipe post. I’m just as amazed as anyone, but that’s the kind and lovely person she is!