Rigatoni with Chipolatas, Courgettes and Mascarpone
I actually created this recipe as an argument- stopper. My daughter Mia wanted pasta and my boys really fancied a meatier meal. I had some chipolata sausages left over and so this dish came about by me basically throwing what I had in the fridge together
You can use any sausages you like (obviously increase the cooking time a little if they are much bigger), and substitute the Parmesan cheese with pecorino, if you prefer. Peas instead of courgettes also work well.
Serves
4
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 500g chipolata sausages, chopped into 2cm pieces
- 1 large courgette, chopped into 5mm cubes
- 200g pancetta, diced
- 500g dried rigatoni pasta
- 250g mascarpone cheese
- 100ml milk, at room temperature
- 60g finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more (optional) to serve
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Pour four litres of water into a large saucepan, add one tablespoon salt and bring to the boil.
- Meanwhile, pour the olive oil into a large shallow saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add
the onion and fry for eight minutes. Place in the chopped sausages, courgette and pancetta and fry for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. - After about 15 minutes of cooking the vegetables and sausages, put the pasta into the boiling water and cook for one minute less than instructed on the packet, giving you the perfect al dente bite.
- Spoon the mascarpone into the sausage mix and add a ladle of the boiling water from your cooking pasta. Add the milk to the sausage sauce and stir well until combined. Sprinkle in the Parmesan, one teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper and allow to simmer for two minutes, stirring continuously. Turn off the heat and set aside.
- When the pasta is ready, drain, then return it to the large pan in which it was cooked. Pour over the chipolata sauce and stir well, ensuring all the pasta is coated in the sauce. Equally divide the pasta between four warmed plates or large bowls and enjoy, sprinkled with a bit more cheese, if you like.
Gino’s Italian Family Adventure by Gino D’Acampo (Bloomsbury Publishing, £22) is out now. Photography by Haarala Hamilton
