Creamy Tomato Sausage Pasta in a Mascarpone Sauce
This Creamy Tomato Sausage Pasta is served in a Sun Dried Tomato and Mascarpone Pasta Sauce - An absolute show stopper of a pasta dish which is SO easy to make!
Servings: 4
Cost: £2.50 / $3
Equipment
- Large Deep Pan & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Colander or Slotted Spoon (see notes)
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Food Processor
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 14 oz / 400g Ground Sausage (see notes)
- 12oz / 350g Rigatoni, or short cut pasta of choice
- 5oz / 150g Sun Dried Tomatoes save 1 tbsp of oil
- 5oz / 150g Mascarpone
- 1oz / 30g / 1/3 cup Freshly Grated Parmesan, plus extra to serve if desired
- 1/2 cup / 120ml Chicken Stock, preferably low sodium
- 1 tbsp Tomato Puree (tomato paste in US)
- 1 small bunch of Fresh Basil
- 1 medium Onion, finely diced
- 1 tsp Garlic, finely diced (approx 1 large clove)
- finely diced Fresh Parsley, to serve
- Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
- 1-2 cups Starchy Pasta Water (see method & notes)
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the sun dried tomatoes, chicken stock and basil until well blended. Place to one side.
- In a large deep pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp sun dried tomato oil (or sub regular olive oil) and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add in garlic and fry for a further minute or so, then add the sausage and fry until fully browned, breaking it up with your wooden spoon as you go.
- Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente. When ready, either use a ladle to scoop the pasta into the sauce and leave the water in the pot. Or, drain in a colander and collect all the water in a bowl or jug. Either way, just ensure sure the water is seasoned well and make sure you don't drain it away!
- Stir tomato puree into the cooked sausage meat and fry for 1-2 minutes, then stir in the sun dried tomato paste and mascarpone. Add the pasta, along with a cup of the starchy pasta water. Give it all a good stir, adding more pasta water to thin out as needed.
- Stir through parmesan and adjust the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with fresh parsley and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Sausage - I use regular sausage meat for this recipe (you'll find it in most supermarkets), but if you can't find any just squeeze the meat from some good quality sausages (neutral flavour). Don't use ground pork, you'll lose out on too much flavour.
b) Sun Dried Tomato Oil - If you have vacuum packed sun dried tomatoes or ones not in oil that's fine, just use olive oil at the start.
c) Pasta Water - This is a key ingredient to create the sauce, so don't drain it away! The starch molecules will emulsify will the fats in the sauce and help create an extra creamy pasta sauce.
d) Chicken Stock - Try and go for reduced salt stock otherwise the dish may end up too salty (with the pasta water and parmesan). Not a deal breaker, just be careful with seasoning.
e) Tomato Puree - Important to fry the tomato puree to bring out the sweetness in it.
f) Calories - Based on sharing between 4 people with no extra parmesan.
Nutrition
Calories: 660kcal | Carbohydrates: 48.82g | Protein: 26.08g | Fat: 41.95g | Saturated Fat: 15.455g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.264g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18.718g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 92mg | Sodium: 991mg | Potassium: 1593mg | Fiber: 9.2g | Sugar: 15.17g | Vitamin A: 1900IU | Vitamin C: 21.5mg | Calcium: 190mg | Iron: 5.2mg