Sausage, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta
A delicious creamy pasta made with pork sausages, aromatic herbs, and a rich tomato and mascarpone sauce, that is both comforting and indulgent which is sure to become a family favourite.
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
Method
Remove the sausage meat from their casings and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the fennel seeds for 1 minute until fragrant, then add the onion and sautee over a medium-low heat for around 6-8 minutes until softened.
Add the sausage meat and garlic to the pan and break the meat into small chunks with a wooden spoon, cook for around 8-10 minutes until nicely browned.
Add the thyme and oragano and fry for 30 seconds then stir in the tomato puree and cook for a further 1 minute. Add the red wine and cook for 3-4 minutes until reduced.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes and 250ml (1 cup) of water, season with a little salt and pepper then cook for 15-20 minutes uncovered until thickened.
Meanwhile, bring a pan of well salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions.
When the pasta ready, stir the mascarpone into the sauce allowing it to melt and become beautifully creamy, then tear in a few basil leaves. Taste and adjust the seasoning if required.
Add the pasta to the sauce and mix everything together allowing the sauce to coat the pasta, serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and top with a few extra basil leaves.
About Sausage, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta
It's the day before my big grocery delivery and I'm pretty much out of most of my common go to ingredients, so I check in my fridge and see some mascarpone that has been pushed to the back and start thinking about what I can do with it. I always have pasta, so I know I'm going to make some kind of pasta dish, and I have sausages in my freezer, but not Italian style so I decide to come up with a sausage pasta dish with mascarpone and add in some of the flavours of Italian (or Sicilian) sausage.
The key ingredient in Sicilian sausage is fennel seeds, so that's my starting point and I know I have fresh thyme and oregano growing in my garden (my oregano was actually a bit woody, so I used dried in the end), so thought I'd get some use out of those, and I had a fresh basil plant on my kitchen window sill - those were going to be my aromatics!
Breaking the meat out of the sausage casings allowed me to use the meat for a ragu rather than chopping up chunks of sausage, so I decided that a tomato based ragu with fennel and herbs was the way to go, I could then stir in the beautifully creamy mascarpone at the end to make a really indulgent sauce. I think it came out really well and is actually really easy to make. I used fettuccine here, but I think rigatoni, penne or even shell pasta would work just as well. This pasta is definitely going to become a firm favourite on mine in the future!
How to Make Sausage, Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta (Visual Guide)
Remove the casing from each sausage by slicing lengthways down the center, then peeling the casing off. Discard the casing and place the meat in a mixing bowl.
Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the fennel seeds for about 1 minute until fragrant.
Sautée the onion and garlic for around 6-8 minutes until softened.
Add the sausage meat to the pan and break it up with the back of a wooden spoon, keep stirring and breaking the sausage meat up until you have small (ground meat sized) pieces and cook until nicely browned.
Once the meat is nicely browned, add the thyme and oregano to the pan and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
Add the tomato puree and mix until combined with the onion mixture, cook for a further minute.
Pour in the red wine and cook for a further 3-4 minutes until reduced.
Pour in the chopped tomatoes, season with a little salt and pepper and give everything a good stir.
Pour in 250ml (1 cup) of water to loosen the sauce a little and cook uncovered over a medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes until thickened, if your sauce gets a little too thick add in a little more water.
While your sauce is cooking bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta according to packet instructions.
Over a low heat, stir in the mascarpone until smooth, the break in a small handful of basil leaves.
Finally, add your cooked pasta to the sauce and mix everything together, making sure you coat the pasta entirely in the sauce. Serve with grated parmesan cheese and freshly cracked black pepper sprinkled over the top, and a few extra basil leaves for garnish if you wish.
Questions and Substitutions
Can I use white wine instead of red wine?
Yes, the acidity of the white wine is great for cutting through the richness of the creamy mascarpone. I only had red wine at the time, which will make a richer sauce with more depth of flavour, but had I also had white wine I might have opted for that instead. Just remember white wine makes the sauce a little lighter, red wine makes the sauce a little richer and both work really well.
One important note, if your tomatoes are a little acidic I probably would avoid white wine, and opt for red, or leave the wine out. You might also want to add a little sugar (1/2-1 tsp) if acidity is a problem.
Comments (0)