Pasta with salsiccia, tomato and red pesto – A simple, quick pasta dish.
This pasta with salsiccia, tomato and red pesto is one of those dishes you can make in just 20 minutes – and it tastes wonderful. A pasta dish that is creamy, full of flavour and just as good on a weeknight as for a slightly more relaxed weekend dinner.
The salsiccia is browned in a little oil with shallot and garlic before fresh tomatoes, tomato purée and a red pesto go in – ideally one made with sun-dried tomatoes, which gives a deep, intense flavour. The sauce is brought together with stock, a little cream, peas, fresh basil and grated mozzarella, which melts in and makes it silky and creamy.
The finished sauce is tossed with freshly cooked pasta and a splash of the pasta water, then seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. The result is a mild, creamy pasta dish that you can adjust to taste – add chilli for a little heat, or a squeeze of lemon or a dash of white wine vinegar if you would like more acidity.
A lighter version
If you want to make the dish a little lighter, you can use single cream, cooking cream or a light cream alternative (such as Danish creme fine) instead of regular whipping cream. You can also leave out the mozzarella to save a few calories – the dish is still rich and creamy without it.
Pasta with salsiccia, tomato and red pesto
Ingredients
- 300 g salsiccia fresh Italian pork sausage, or loose salsiccia sausage meat
- 400 g pasta
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 3-4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
- 300 g cherry tomatoes, quartered
- 3 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 tbsp red pesto
- 200 ml water
- 1/2 chicken stock cube
- 200 ml whipping cream (38% fat)
- 300 g frozen peas, defrosted
- 120 g grated mozzarella
- 7 sprigs basil, leaves picked
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- Oil
- Pasta cooking water
- Parmesan, to serve (optional)
Method
- If you are using salsiccia sausages, start by splitting the casings and scraping out the sausage meat. Chop it roughly or break it up between your fingers.
- Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and brown the salsiccia meat in a splash of oil for just under 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put the pasta on and cook it al dente according to the packet instructions.
- Add the shallot and garlic to the pan and fry until the shallot is soft and translucent, then add the fresh tomatoes and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Add the tomato purée and pesto and stir them into the contents of the pan, then pour in the water and add the stock cube. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the cream and let the sauce come together and thicken, then stir the peas into the sauce and season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Stir the mozzarella into the sauce, adjust the consistency with a little pasta water, and finally toss the pasta and fresh basil leaves through the sauce.
- Let the dish stand for a minute or so to come together, adjust the consistency with more pasta water if needed, and serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan on top, if you like.
Nutrition
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