PASTA WITH SAUSAGE

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Most of us associate pasta and sausage with a dense, heavy tomato sauce, the kind that is so Italian-American it is just about indigenous. Yet sausage can contribute to a relatively light, almost delicate pasta sauce, especially if it is used in small amounts. In fact, sausage is the ideal meat to use in a quick pasta sauce, because it is preseasoned and cooks almost instantly.

Yield makes 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 5

Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, removed from the casing
1 pound ziti or other cut pasta
1/2 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Steps:

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. As it melts, crumble the sausage meat into it, making the bits quite small, 1/2 inch or less in size. Add 1/2 cup of water and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers gently.
  • Cook the pasta until it is tender but not at all mushy. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the pasta-cooking water.
  • Drain the pasta and dress with the sauce, adding some of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. Taste and add salt and pepper as necessary. Toss with the Parmigiano-Reggiano and serve.
  • White Pasta with Sausage and Onions: Before adding the sausage, gently cook about 1 cup minced onion in the butter until it is translucent. Proceed as directed.
  • Red Pasta with Sausage: Still far lighter than the pasta with sausage you're expecting. Core, cut up, seed, and drain 5 to 6 plum tomatoes; they may be fresh or canned. Add them to the sauce along with the sausage.
  • Add about 1 teaspoon minced garlic or a couple of tablespoons minced shallot to the butter as it melts.
  • Toss in a handful of chopped fresh parsley or basil at the last moment or add about 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or minced fresh sage along with the sausage.
  • Use red wine as the cooking liquid; its astringency offsets the sweet richness of butter and meat beautifully.

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