One of the restaurants near where I work has this out-of-this-world amazing pasta dish. It's spicy, meaty, and tomato-ey... and to me, it's everything I love about food, all wrapped into one.
It is simply called "Rigatoni", and the description is "tossed with sausage, hot cherry peppers, kalamata olives, cherry tomato sauce". That's it.
And, forgive me as I repeat myself, it is OUT OF THIS WORLD amazeballs. Slightly sweet cherry tomato sauce with a kick from the hot peppers and some acid from the olives... not to mention the fabulous pasta and the meaty sausage.
So I tried to recreate it.
Attempt #1 almost burnt my tongue off. I made it soooo spicy that I had to throw out the entire dish because it just was not edible. Sad face.
Attempt #2 was spot on.
And Attempt #3 was done in my "brand new" (to me) kitchen in my new apartyment in Florida. Not the best idea to make this when it's 80 degrees out, but you know what? It's so friggin good, make it whenever. Feel free to cool down with a glass of chilled white wine.
You're welcome:
Here's how I made it:
Start by browning some spicy Italian sausages. You can use the full fat kind (like I did here) or go for Applegate's "chicken sausage", which is what I recommend as it's healthier. Heat a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, then lay the sausages in. You'll see I tried cooking them two ways... pre-sliced, and whole... I recommend starting whole, brown on all sides, then slice and finish browning on both sides... if you try to slice pre-cooking (at least the real Italian sausage kind), it will get all mushy and not be a nice-looking slice... if you go with the chicken sausage, you're golden. Just heat up in the microwave for 30, slice, then brown for a few minutes in the pan.
...see how nice and brown they got??
...transfer those suckers to a plate with paper towels so they can drain. Next, dice an onion... My method starts by halving a whole onion, then making nice, even slices...
...and then turning the whole thing 90 degrees and slicing again, this time perpendicular to the original cuts. That way you get nice, even cubes!
...add those diced onions to the pan with the sausage fat and start sauteeing...
...after a few minutes, add garlic... and while that's cooking up and getting all nice and translucent, start halving some cherry tomatoes...
...and add those to the pan so they start cooking...
...after just a few minutes, add low sodium tomato sauce, stir, and then start adding dried herbs... namely oregano, thyme and a bit of rosemary...
...stir some more and let simmer so all the flavors start to absorb, and almost at the end, add chopped fresh basil. Mix in...
...now, start cooking your pasta according to the package directions...
...and then go back to your sauce and start finishing it off to be nice and spicy. You can leave the sauce as is right now for a great cherry tomato sauce, but we're going to make it spicy for this pasta... so add 2-3 spoonsfull of minced hot cherry peppers, a few sliced sweet cherry peppers, and a handful of sliced kalamata olives, crushed red pepper flakes to taste, salt and pepper, and stir together...
...with 2 minutes left to go in cook time for the pasta, REMOVE IT from the boiling water and drain. I learned something on the foodnetwork - you're supposed to finish cooking the pasta in the sauce so it absorbs the flavor! So drain, add the sausage and the pasta...
...and stir all that beautiful gorgeousness together, cooking on low heat for just a few more minutes...
...look at that friggin yumminess!!!!
...And I think it makes a beautiful plate too :)
MMMMM thank goodness I have leftovers :)
Continue reading for the recipe, or click here for a printable version.
Spicy sausage and pepper pasta in a spicy cherry tomato sauce
(My copy cat attempt of Masina's "Rigatoni")
Ingredients:
Extra virgin olive oil
12oz spicy Italian sausage or "chicken" sausage substitute
1 yellow onion
2 T minced garlic
1 package of cherry tomatoes
1 15 oz can of low sodium tomato sauce
1/2 T each of dried herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme
Handful of fresh basil, chopped into chunks, or smaller pieces depending on preference
8oz whole wheat pasta, any style - penne, rigatoni, etc...
2-3 T minced hot cherry peppers (if you want spicy, go for 3... that's how I like it!)
4-5 whole sweet cherry peppers, sliced into rings
8-10 kalamata olives, halved
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Heat a large skillet, add a little extra virgin olive oil. Add sausages and brown on all sides. Remove sausages, and carefully slice then on the diagonal. Add back to pan to brown on both sides. When done, remove to a plate with paper towels to drain.
2. Dice one onion and add to pan with sausage fat, stirring a few times to cook through. After 3-5 minutes, move onions out of the way of the middle of the pan, add minced garlic, browning for a few seconds before stirring to combine.
3. After halving the cherry tomatoes, add to the pan and combine, cooking for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomato sauce, stirring to combine, and then add the dry herbs (you can use more if you like more flavoring).
5. Add fresh basil, stirring to combine, and lower heat to simmer.
6. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to the package directions, minus 2 minutes (you'll finish cooking the pasta in the sauce).
7. When the pasta is almost done cooking, add the hot cherry peppers, sliced sweet cherry peppers, kalamata olives, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Taste to ensure spiciness is to your liking, add more spice if you need it. Simmer for a few more minutes.
8. Remove pasta from heat and drain.
9. Add sausage and pasta to the sauce, stirring to combine and cook on low for 2-3 more minutes.
10. Plate.
11. DEVOUR, preferably with a nice cool glass of white wine to cool your tongue :)
Note:
* Re: Sausage. If you're trying to be healthy, I highly recommend the Applegate Chicken sausage - it comes in a variety of flavors, one being a jalapeno, go for that one. Add a bit more EVOO to the pan when cooking.
* I found this recipe to really come together after it sat in the fridge for a day - the flavors just melded together more, but it was also super tasty hot out of the pan.
