This new recipe that I cooked tonight, Asparagus Sausage Pasta comes from this amazing Italian recipe book that I downloaded recently; 1000 ricette di Pasta by Newton Compton (1000 Pasta recipes). That’s how simple the title is but its full of so many treasures. I have been deep reading it on my way into work the last couple of weeks, taking in each recipe like it was a new chapter in a thriller.
The simplicity of these recipes and few ingredients would suggest that these dishes wouldn’t pack so much flavour. How wrong was I?? VERY! Try out this recipe to see what I am talking about.
Ingredients (serves 4-5 people)
500g Rigatoni or Conchiglioni Pasta
300g Asaparagus
1 garlic clove,
1 tsp dry Sage or 2 fresh leaves
400g Sausage meat
1/2 glass of Marsala
30g butter
100ml double cream or ‘Panna’ (Italian cooking cream)
Salt & Pepper
- Wash the asparagus and trim the ends; cut them into 4-5cm chunks
- Put them in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for about 8-10 minutes. Drain and keep them to one side
- In a deep pan, melt half the butter and add a drizzle of olive oil. When heated, add the garlic clove, crushed with the sage.
- As soon as the garlic is slightly brown, remove from the pan and add the sausage meat in little chunks.
- Cook for a few minutes, until the meat is slightly browned, then add the Marsala and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes
- Then add the cooked asparagus and cook for a 2-3 minutes with the sausage meat.
- Finally add the remaining butter and cream; season with salt & pepper.
- Cook the pasta in salted boiling water, drain and stir into the sauce.
- Serve up.
