Filed under Main Course, Pasta, Pork, Quick
All I had to do was read the ingredient list of this recipe and my father was half-way out the door to the store to buy the fettuccini. Normally either one of "a pound of Italian sausage" or "a cup of whipping cream" is enough to pique his interest. Both together and the recipe takes on its own gravitational force. "Make me... make me.."
Even better than trying out a great new (to us) recipe is having a delightful guest with whom to share it. Fellow food blogger Chip Brantley of CookThink happened to be driving through Sacramento tonight and popped by for dinner. I can happily report that this recipe goes quite well with 2 bottles of full-bodied red wine, 4 hungry people, and stimulating (to us) conversation about growing stone fruit.
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 shallots, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 pound spicy or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup whipping cream
2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1 Tbsp dried sage
3/4 pound fettuccine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add sausages and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up the sausages a bit, about 5 minutes. Add cream; simmer 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juices. Add sage. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
3 Return pasta to same pot; add sauce. Toss over medium heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with cheese and serve.
Serves 6.
Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine (December 2000).
