Pasta with salsiccia and cream – creamy and fresh in 20 minutes.
This is one of those pasta dishes that is utterly simple yet tastes wonderful.
Pasta with salsiccia (Italian pork sausage) and cream is creamy, fresh and full of flavour – and best of all, it takes only about 20 minutes to make.
The base is fried salsiccia, which together with shallot, garlic and a pinch of chilli flakes builds a deeply savoury foundation. Stock, cream and parmesan then go in to make a silky sauce, lifted by lemon juice, lemon zest, green peas and chives.
Once the sauce is ready, it is tossed with pasta that has been cooked a touch short of al dente – the pasta then finishes cooking in the sauce and lands at exactly the right consistency.
Save a little of the pasta water, so you can always adjust the sauce, making it creamier or looser as you like.
Lighter version
If you want to make the dish a little lighter, you can swap the whipping cream for a lighter option such as single cream, cooking cream or a reduced-fat cream alternative. You still get a creamy sauce, but with fewer calories.
The parmesan can also be left out if cheese is not your thing – the sauce is still delicious without it.
Pasta with salsiccia, peas and cream
Ingredients
- 300 g salsiccia sausagemeat (or whole salsiccia sausages)
- 400 g pasta
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 1 pinch chilli flakes
- 100 ml water
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 200 ml whipping cream (38% fat)
- 50 g parmesan, finely grated
- 1 lemon, juice and finely grated zest
- 300 g frozen peas, defrosted
- 1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Oil
- Pasta water, if needed
Method
- If you are using whole salsiccia sausages, start by slitting the casings open and scraping out the meat. Chop it roughly or crumble it between your fingers.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and brown the sausagemeat in a splash of oil for just under 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put the pasta on to cook and cook it to just under al dente, following the packet instructions.
- Add the shallot and garlic to the pan, sprinkle over a few chilli flakes and keep frying until the shallot is soft and translucent.
- Pour in the water, add the stock cube and the cream, and let the sauce simmer while the pasta finishes cooking.
- Stir the parmesan into the sauce together with the lemon zest, and season to taste with freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Toss the pasta, peas and chives into the sauce and let it simmer until the pasta is al dente and the sauce clings to the pasta. Adjust the consistency with a little pasta water if needed.
- Serve with extra parmesan and chives, if you like.
Nutrition
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