Description
This Spicy Sausage Rigatoni is a quick and flavorful Italian-inspired pasta dish featuring hearty pork sausages, a spicy tomato sauce, and creamy double cream. Perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner, it combines tender rigatoni pasta with a robust sauce made with fresh peppers, garlic, chili, and aromatic herbs, finished with parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 300 g (10.5 oz) dried rigatoni pasta
Sauce and Sausage Mixture
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 red pepper, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red or green chilli, finely chopped
- 400 g (14 oz) good quality pork sausages (skins removed)
- 2 tbsp tomato puree (paste)
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 400 g (14 oz) tin finely chopped tomatoes
- ¼ tsp salt (optional, depending on saltiness of sausages)
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) double (heavy) cream
- Small bunch fresh basil, sliced into strips
- Grated parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Cook the pasta: Cook the dried rigatoni pasta according to the package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta, reserving one cup of the pasta cooking water for later.
- Prepare the base: While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Sauté vegetables: Add the diced onion, finely chopped red pepper, minced garlic, and chopped chilli to the pan. Cook while stirring often for about 5 minutes until the onion starts to soften and the vegetables are fragrant.
- Cook sausage meat: Remove sausage skins and add the sausage meat to the pan. Fry for 5-6 minutes, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon until browned and cooked through.
- Add seasoning and tomatoes: Stir in tomato puree, black pepper, chilli flakes, and dried oregano. Then add the tin of finely chopped tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Taste and season: Taste the sauce and add salt if needed, depending on the saltiness of your sausages.
- Combine pasta and sauce: Add the cooked rigatoni, double cream, and half of the fresh basil into the pan. Stir well to combine; if the sauce is too thick, loosen it with a few splashes of the reserved pasta water.
- Heat through: Cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to heat the cream through and allow the flavors to meld, then turn off the heat.
- Serve: Serve the pasta topped with the remaining fresh basil and grated parmesan cheese for extra flavor.
Notes
- The salt is optional and depends on the saltiness of your sausages, so taste before adding.
- You can adjust the chilli amount based on your preferred spice level.
- Reserve some pasta water to adjust the sauce consistency as needed.
- If you prefer a richer dish, add a little more cream to taste.
- Use good quality pork sausages for best flavor.
- For a gluten-free version, substitute rigatoni with gluten-free pasta.
