Spicy sausage and ricotta pasta

My penne con ‘nduja e ricotta features two traditional Calabrian ingredients of opposing flavors, mild ricotta and spicy sausage. The sausage cooks down to create a colourful, rich sauce.

Credit: Bonacini's Italy

• serves

  4

• prep

  5 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) olive oil
• 1 large shallot, finely chopped
• 226 g (½ lb) nduja sausage, casing removed, cut into pieces
• 450 g (1 lb) penne
• 1½ cups fresh high-quality ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish, optional
• Salt and pepper
• Sliced parsley, to garnish

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add shallot and sauté until soft. Add pieces of sausage and sauté, stirring occasionally.

2. In the meantime, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook.

3. As the pasta cooks, combine ricotta cheese and ¼ cup (60 ml) Parmesan in a bowl. Add ricotta mixture to pan with nduja and mix well, turning heat to low. Add a ladleful of pasta water, then season with salt and pepper. When the pasta is al dente, drain, then add pasta to pan and toss to coat in sauce.

4. Garnish with parmesan and serve immediately. Buon Appetito!

Note

• Nduja is a very spicy pork sausage.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.