Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Sundried Tomatoes
Ingredients
1⁄4 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8-16 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
6 sundried tomato halves, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons tomato paste
1⁄4 cup dry white wine
16-18 ounces flat pasta noodles such as fettucine, fresh or dried
12 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
Instructions
1. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, and add 2 tablespoons of salt.
2. If using dried pasta, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender. Drain the pasta. If using fresh pasta, cook when finished with step 3.
3. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage and sundried tomatoes and cook, stirring, until the sausage is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. Drain the fat from the pan, then stir in the tomato paste and wine and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. If using fresh pasta, drop the pasta into the boiling water and cook until tender. Drain the pasta.
5. Add the pasta to the pan with the sundried tomatoes. Return to the heat, toss in the basil, and stir gently for about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
Comments
This recipe comes from one of Mario Batali’s books. If I had to guess, I’d guess that I found it in Molto Italiano. While many of his recipes call for ingredients I just can’t find, every recipe of his that I have made has been amazing. This one is no different. When I saw the name of it I knew, immediately, that I had to make it since it contains all of Art’s most favorite ingredients. All in one dish! How perfect is that?
As expected, this has turned out to be one of Art’s favorite dishes and one that he requests on a somewhat regular basis. (In this house, regular means 1-2 times a year when it comes to food.) I made it this time with plum tomatoes that I’d roasted in the oven to dry out, just to see how it would work. If you use sundried tomatoes, they’ll be much more visible in the dish. The oven-roasted tomatoes worked perfectly in terms of flavor!
Shown here with Grilled Eggplant.
Molto Italiano