orecchiette con salsiccia e asparagi


orecchiette with sausage and asparagus
This is a reasonably closely related recipe to my Pici with Zucchini and Sausage, which you'll find in the OIL chapter. But with cream. And different veg. NB that the quantities in this recipe are for 6 people!
WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO DO
(scroll down for the full method)
gut the sausages
cook the sausages in wine, garlic
boil the asparagus tips and peas
warm the cream gently
add pecorino, saffron, pepper to taste
boil the pasta
add pasta to cream, combine
add sausages, asparagus, peas
toss to combine sauce and pasta

orecchiette with sausage and asparagus
INGREDIENTS
FOR SIX PEOPLE
600-800g sausage meat (Black Farmer Pork Sausages)
375ml single cream
499g asparagus spears
1 garlic clove
fresh parsley
2 large handfuls frozen peas
black pepper, parmesan or pecorino to taste
PASTA
800g fresh orecchiette (Martimucci)
MANTECATURA (?)
none, simply combine





METHOD
Remove the insides from any meaty sausage of your choice (I used Black Farmer's Pork Sausages) and dry-fry the sausage meat in a non-stick pan. Cook on a medium-low heat and break up the sausage meat with a wooden spoon, adding a crushed clove of garlic. Add a splash of white wine once the sausage has all changed colour. Let the meat simmer in the wine for 5-10 minutes, then allow it to dry out and crisp very slightly - but not burn!
In the meantime, boil the asparagus tips and cook until there’s still some resistance to them, but no crunch. But defintiely not so long as to make them turn khaki in colour! Throw in two large handfuls of frozen peas to cook in the same saucepan, when the asparagus has had a minute or two of boiling.

Try and time the next step to happen a few minutes before the pasta is cooked. Begin by warming the cream gently in a pasta wok. Gradually add some grated pecorino, a tiny pinch of saffron (optional), black pepper. Don't let the cream boil or simmer, just allow it to steam gently.
When the pasta is cooked perfectly (I prefer just past al dente, with a little bit of chew, for fresh orecchiette), drain it, holding back a large up of cooking water. Add the orecchiette to the cream in the pasta wok and toss to combine. Throw in the sausage, asparagus tips, peas and combine. Add more cream to taste. Serve immediately with more pecorino, freshly ground black pepper, and finely chopped parsley leaves.
NUTRITION per serving
KCAL: 959
Fat (g): 37.3
Sat Fat (g): 16.9
Carb (g): 103.1
Sug (g): 8.2
Fibre(g): 7.4
Prot (g): 47.9
Salt (g): 1.52

