fusilli con saliccia, castagne
e cavolini di brussels
fusilli with sausage, chestnuts and sherry-flambéed sprouts
Here's an idea for a seasonal pasta - it's essentially pork, onion and chestnut stuffing on fusilli (Pasta Martelli from Fratelli Camisa) in a Brussels sprouts sauce.
Pasta Trivia - these 'fusilli di Pisa' have the same number of spirals as the Leaning Tower of Pisa....
For the sprout sceptical - there are ways you can reduce the sprout flavour in this recipe - see below for more info....
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
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make the stuffing
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peek and boil the sprouts
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make the sauce
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boil the pasta
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combine and plate
fusilli with sausage, chestnuts and sherry-flambéed sprouts
FOR FOUR PEOPLE
INGREDIENTS
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500g brussels sprouts
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400 pork sausage meat
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parmesan
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sherry
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2 large handfuls cooked chestnuts
PASTA
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450g dry fusilli (Martelli)
MANTECATURA
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slight
METHOD
If you're reading this far you probably don't have a problem with the taste of sprouts. But did you know that one way of reducing their bitterness is to remove the outer leaves and avoid boiling them? Roasting on a high heat brings out their sweetness and caramelises them in the oven, so try that if you prefer a milder sprouty flavour.
I'm not bothered by the taste of sprouts, so IU generally remove the outer leaves, boil them briefly so they're still firm and then flambé them in sherry....
But we're getting ahead of ourselves - start by making the stuffing. Finely chop half an onion, together with the chestnuts. Using your hands, combine these ingredients with the sausage meat in a mixing boil and then out everything into a small roasting dish. Roast at a moderate oven temperature (Gas #5) for about 45-60 mins. Don't let the top of the stuffing burn and don't feel you have to get rid too much excess fat - sausage meat can dry out a little when you cook it in the oven like this and it's good to have a little extra moisture and flavour !
While the stuffing's cooking, decide how you're going to cook the sprouts and follow the instructions at the top of this page for that method.
When I cooked this dish I blended a handful of sprouts with a ladle of boiling water, a couple of tablespoons of grated pecorino and a drizzle of EVO to make a sporty sauce for the pasta, so which ever way you cook your sprouts, allow time to do that too!
When the stuffing's looking like it's ready and you've done the sprout prep and sauce, put the pasta on to boil.
Take the stuffing gout of the oven and break it up into small crumbs with a fork.
Chop the remaining sprouts into halves and quickly (and carefully) flambé them in a pan with a splash of sweet sherry.
As the pasta it reaches your preferred tenderness, add it to the sprout sauce in a pasta pan and toss to combine. Add the stuffing and toss. Add the flambéd sprouts, toss and plate.