Friday Night Cooking with Friends

This evening we decided to do some hearty cooking, and decided to make a pasta recipe that one of my student's mums gave to me. It was her secret recipe that she always made for dinner parties and never revealed the recipe - so she said I was quite privileged to receive it! (...and here I am passing this on to you, lets hope she hasn't found my blog yet.) Its a foolproof recipe that tastes great, takes a bit of time - but ideal for enjoying a glass of wine and chatting whilst preparing and cooking (and not too tricky to multitask, if you are worrying!). Here is a recipe for 2, so you can alter accordingly. Actually this is 2, with a bit left over for lunch the next day, as its great the next day when the flavours have infused even more.

Rigatoni alla salsiccia
4 excellent quality italian sausages
2 tins of tomatoes
about 1/3 bottle of red wine
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots
basil leaves
parmesan cheese, freshly grated
extra virgin olive oil
Optional: double cream


Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan - a deep frying pan is ideal - and add the very finely chopped shallots and garlic. (if you are making this and need to use onions instead, thats fine) Whilst they are gently softening, prepare the sausages. This is quite fun and satisfying: squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins, and then divide the meat up into small amounts, and make meatballs in your hands by forming them into small balls. Add these to the pan, and ensure there is enough oil to allow them to brown all over. Once they have got colour to them and are going brown, add the red wine, and ensure the heat is turned up. Allow this to simmer and most of the red wine to get absorbed. This can take around 20 minutes. Be patient, its worth it. Adding the wine prior to the tomatoes is key here - it ensures that the sausage meat really absorbs the flavour. Once its nearly absorbed, add the tomatoes. Then add a bit more red wine for good measure. Mix it gently, and tear up the basil leaves into the pan and stir. Did you know that the stalks of the basil are very flavoursome? I learnt that this week from my Mum. Allow this to simmer for about 20 minutes, then add the grated parmesan and stir in. Turn off the heat and put a lid on it for 5 mins. At this stage you can add about 3 tablespoons of double cream if you like - we didn't tonight, so I'll make it another time so you can see a photo - but its great with or without. It depends how indulgent you are feeling.
Whenever you make a pasta sauce or a risotto, its important to turn off the heat, and let it 'rest' with a lid on the pan for 5 minutes before serving. I'm not exactly sure why, but I learnt this in Italy and it always seems to taste better, so I believe it.

Here are some photos, from the start when the meatballs are cooking with the red wine, to the pasta ready to eat! (Tip: Add a bit of oil to the water when bringing it to the boil, to stop the pasta sticking, and some salt).

We also made a lovely salad to go with it - of mixed leaves, avocado and walnut pieces. You can add oil and balsamic vinegar as desired.

I hope you enjoy making this, and eating it! Your guests will love it. Buona serata!