Pasta with Sausages in Tomato Sauce

Pasta

1. This time we chose tortiglioni: short tubes no more than 4 cm long and about 1 cm in diameter. I like this pasta. It cooks well and holds even a runny sauce beautifully.

2. Bring 2 l of water to a boil in a large pot and add salt, 7 g of salt per 1 l of water.

3. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook it while the sauce is coming together. The cooking time is on the package; the manufacturer guarantees al dente at that time.

   

Sauce

1. If vegetables are out of season, you can use canned tomato pulp instead of ripe tomatoes. It is a convenient preserve that you can buy or make yourself in season. Alternatively, you can use homemade tomato sauce, but be careful with the spices, since the sauce already has them.

2. Peel a clove of garlic and a fresh chili pepper. Chop the garlic and pepper; it does not have to be very fine.

   

3. First, flavor the oil the sausages will be fried in. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

4. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and chili and fry for 1-2 mins until fragrant. Do not overcook the garlic, or the pasta with sausages will have a noticeable aftertaste.

   

5. Peel the casings off the sausages. If it is a thin film, it is very easy to remove. Often the casing hardly comes off. In that case it is easier to cut the sausages in half lengthwise and slice the filling away from the casing with a knife, the way you cut a fish fillet off its skin.

6. Cut the sausages into thick strips the length of your pasta.

   

7. Add the sliced sausages to the pan. Fry for 2-3 mins, stirring.

8. Season the sausages generously with freshly ground pepper and add 1-2 pinches of dried oregano. Do not add salt yet; it is better to do that at the very end, to taste.

   You can add more spices than usual, considering that tomato pulp will make up a large part of the volume.

   

9. Peel the ripe tomatoes and remove the seeds and any white, underripe parts. The skin comes off easily if you score it with a cross and dip the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds. If you are using canned tomatoes, they are already prepared.

10. Blend the tomato pulp into a smooth puree with a blender.

11. Pour the tomato into the pan with the sausages. Simmer, covered, over low heat for 4-5 mins.

12. Then season with salt to taste and, if needed, add more spices. If the tomatoes are noticeably sour, add a little sugar.

    The sauce should be thick enough that the liquid does not run off the pasta. The dish itself should look not like soup but like a thick stew. If the sauce turns out a bit runny, simmer it for another 1-2 mins without the lid until it thickens.

    

Serving

1. As soon as the pasta is cooked to the right doneness, drain it in a colander.

2. Put the pasta into the pan and toss it with the sauce.

   

3. Divide the pasta with sausages among plates. For decoration, you can add a sprig of basil. As a rule, I do not sprinkle cheese on tomato sauce, though many people do.

   If you do not like tomato, you can make the sauce without it, using heavy cream. White wine is also a fine addition. You can thicken the sauce with zucchini puree, which you stew separately and then blend.