Patricia Wells calls this a “hearty cold-weather pasta.” I call it an “Is it winter? Is it spring? My family’s suffering from allergies but it’s so damn cold I need to turn my heat on today” pasta, so it was perfect earlier this week.
This dish is great for when you want a hot, steamy bowl of pasta but have HAD IT with run-of-the-mill tomato sauce – regardless of how good your sauce is. (Do you have any idea how much spaghetti we’ve had this winter?) It’s a tomato-meets-carbonara style, so if you’re squicked out by adding beaten eggs once the sauce is done cooking, this might not be for you. But try it! The egg makes the sauce silky and decadent. The sauce also utilizes half of a bottle of wine – of which the alcohol all burns off – so it has lots of flavor. And would you look at that! There’s enough wine left to fill two glasses.
For those who could never serve this to their children: Sorry. We’ve fed Tink what we were eating from the get-go, so we can indulge in full-bodied wine-flavored quasi-French Italian-inspired pasta when the mood strikes.
Or, at least when I can find a decent red for $7.
Fusili with Sausage, Fennel and Red Wine
(adapted from “Patricia Wells at Home in Provence”)
Serves 4 to 6, depending on portion sizes
1 pound Italian sausage, either bulk or links (removed from casing)
1 heaping t fennel seeds
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine, such as Chianti or Sangiovese
3 eggs at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (plus more for topping)
Salt, pepper
1 pound dried fusili or penne
About 1 cup pasta cooking water
In a saute pan large enough to hold the sauce and the pasta, brown the sausage over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, breaking up the meat into fine pieces. Add the fennel seeds and tomato paste, toss to blend and cook over moderate heat for 2 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Slowly add the wine, pouring it all over the surface of the pan. Adjust the heat to bring the liquid to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until most of the wine – and alcohol – have cooked off, about 15 minutes from the time the liquid comes to a simmer.
Break the eggs into a small bowl and whisk in the cheese. Add a generous grinding of pepper.
Meanwhile, heat 6 quarts of water in a large pasta pot. When the water is boiling, add the pasta and a handful of salt, stirring to prevent the pasta from sticking. Cook until tender but firm (check cooking time on package of pasta – usually around 9 to 11 minutes). Reserve 1 cup of cooking water. Quickly drain the pasta, leaving it quite wet.
Add the pasta to the saute pan with the sausage sauce and toss thoroughly, evening coating the pasta. Turn off heat and, working quickly, stir in the egg mixture. Continue to toss until each piece of pasta is evenly coated with sauce. The pasta should not be dry; you will probably need to add 3 to 4 T of the pasta cooking water. Add it one tablespoon at a time until you have a smooth, clinging sauce. Top with more grated cheese and serve.
Add a few more tablespoons of pasta water to the leftovers before refrigerating.
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