Pasta with sausage saffron sauce (alla monzese)... A Graziani Family Recipe
The pasta with sausage saffron sauce is a tasty and quick recipe, using the same ingredients as a traditional dish of the Brianza region, in Lombardy: the risotto alla monzese, made with sausage and saffron. The star of this recipe is the Luganega sausage, that is typically made from a mixture of pork, grana cheese, beef broth and wine. Saffron is another traditional ingredient, but in this case it’s enriched with cream to create an extremely creamy sauce. The end result is a great dish for any time of the year, easy and quick to make. The pasta with sausage saffron sauce will win you over with its strong flavor.
INGREDIENTS
Servings: 4 persons
Salt: to taste
Pasta: ridged penne 350 g
Sausage: Italian (luganega) 250 g (Italian (luganega) 8.8 oz)
Cream: heavy 250 ml (heavy 1 cup)
Saffron: powder 0.5 g (powder ¼ tsp)
Parmesan cheese: grated 60 g (grated, just over ½ cup)
Pepper: to taste
PREPARATION
To prepare the pasta with sausage saffron sauce, first slit the casing of the sausage with a sharp knife and discard.
Break up the sausage with your hands and form into bite-sized balls.
Heat a non-stick pan on a medium flame and cook the sausage balls without adding any oil, as it will cook in its rendered fat.
Once nice and browned, add the heavy cream to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes until the flavors are well blended.
In the meantime, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water.
Take out a ladleful of the pasta cooking water, add the saffron powder and let it dissolve; then pour the saffron mixture into the pan.
Stir to blend the saffron and the cream.
Drain the pasta 2 minutes before the suggested time and add to the pan, keeping the cooking water aside.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the pasta with the sauce on a medium flame for 2 minutes, sprinkling with the grated parmesan cheese and adding enough of the pasta cooking water to get a creamy sauce.
Plate up your saffron and sausage pasta and serve immediately!
