Paccheri with Salsiccia, Roasted Capsicum & Cherry Tomatoes

I know yesterday I said  that linguine was my favourite pasta. However, their are a few other paste that I have become familiar with since I was on a stage at De Cecco, one of the best pasta companies in Italy. Paccheri is one of them. They suit a variety of sauce styles and also can be filled as mini cannelloni. Perhaps this will be my next paccheri rendezvous.

Serves 2

150g paccheri, olive oil, half onion finely diced, chilli sliced, 1 garlic clove finely diced, 100 g pork and fennel sausage, 1 punnet cherry tomatoes sliced in half, half yellow capsicum (bell pepper) membrane removed, 2 T tomato paste, 100 ml red wine (stock or water can be substituted if none on hand)

Lets start with the capsicum and cherry tomatoes. Place the cherry tomatoes on an oiled baking tray, sprinkle with salt and thyme and put in the oven for 40 mins at 140°C. For the capsicum, blaze the skin on the flame of the gas stove so that it is black and blistered (otherwise in the oven at 220°C). Allow to cool and then peel the skin off.

It is time to organise the pasta. Bring some salted water to the boil and add the pasta and cook according to the advice on the packet.

Take the sausage out of the skin, add a little salt and roll into little bowls. Pan fry with a little olive oil until golden. Take out and put aside. In the same pan, add 1 Tbl oil and sweat the garlic, onion and chilli on a medium flame. When the onion is translucent add the tomato paste and wine (or substitute). Stir and mix well. After 3 minutes add the cherry tomatoes and capsicum. It may start to dry out. Add some water from the pasta as this contains starch and will give it some thickness and velvety goodness. When the sauce has become homogeneous from the addition of water, turn off while the pasta finishes cooking.

Drain the pasta and add to the sauce. Coat all the paccheri well and serve with basil and parmesan.

Filed under: Recipes , capsicum, cherry tomatoes, paccheri, pasta, red wine, salsiccia

Orecchiette with salsiccia, radicchio, ricotta & lemon

Well I have been dreaming about this pasta for the past 2 days. I don’t know if that is a good thing to admit or not. I’ve been adding and deleting ingredients in my head as I walk around town. Finally I finished off the shopping this morning so I could indulge in my fantasy for lunch.

In Bra, we have our own type of salsiccia (sausage) that is made with the local breed of cow and often eaten raw. It is deliciously sexy and I like to prepare it as the french steak tartare. For this pasta, I cooked half briefly and left the other half raw. Both were gorgeous.The lemon, please do not omit. You will be doing yourself a great disservice by leaving it out or substituting it with the fake concentrate. This recipe will easily serve 1-2 people. Just note the quantity of pasta per person. Orecchiette means “little ears” and is a traditional pasta from Puglia in the south.

Extra virgin olive oil 1 good splashing and more to serve

Garlic 1 clove

Salsiccia 70g, skin removed

Capers 4, if salted wash clean

Radicchio 2 leaves, sliced into small bite sized pieces

Ricotta 70g, the freshest you can find or substitute fresh goats cheese

Lemon juice & peel of half a lemon

Thyme and basil, washed

Orechiette 70g per person

This all really happens very quickly. By the time you have brought the salted water to the boil and you are ready to add the pasta, the prep for everything else is also done. Just some notes on the preparation. To have the best garlic and lemon, I recommend using a fine grade microplane. They grate wonderfully, saving so much time and it means no big garlic bits or likewise with the lemon peel. However, assuming you haven’t just rushed off to purchase one, chop both the garlic and lemon peel as finely as you can. With the lemon peel, avoid white pith as this is unpleasantly bitter.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions and suggested timing. When there is 3 minutes left, be ready to start cooking the sausage. Heat the oil and garlic in a frypan. When hot, add the sausage and capers. The radicchio will change colour with cooking, so to keep some of the vibrant purple, add in the final 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice.

The pasta should be al dente by now, so drain well, especially for this dish.  Mix together the sausage “sauce” and pasta in the best suited frying pan/pot.  Stir well and then add the ricotta and lemon peel. Serve onto plates and top with the herbs and extra olive oil.

Filed under: In 15 minutes, Puglia, Recipes , lemon, orecchiette, pasta, radicchio, recipe, salsiccia