Description
Fill up with this delicious Rigatoni and Maria Rosa Sauce dish.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb rigatoni (we like DeCeccho)
- 1 lb ground hot Italian sausage
- Olive oil
- Calabrian chili sauce (to taste)
- A few pinches of sugar
- ¾ tsp balsamic vinegar
- A scant handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 3 to 4 cups Stanley Tucci-inspired Maria Rosa Tomato Sauce
- Salt
Instructions
- Set a large pot of well-salted water on high heat and cover.
- Heat a skillet and enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom.
- Place in the Italian sausage and break apart with your spoon into small chunks.
- Once the sausage begins to cook and lose its pink color, add Calabrian chili sauce to taste. Stir and cook until the meat begins to brown.
- Throw the pasta into the boiling salted water. It will take approximately 8 – 10 minutes for the pasta to reach an “almost al dente” state.
- Back to the sauce! Add a few tiny pinches of sugar, the balsamic vinegar and a little salt. Stir and cook until the meat is browned enough. Place in the chopped basil and stir to combine. Then, taste and add more Calabrian chili sauce if desired.
- Pour in ladlefuls of the prepared Maria Rosa sauce until you reach the consistency you desire.
- Reserve 2/3 cup of pasta water. Drain the “almost al dente” rigatoni in a colander. Return the rigatoni to the still-warm pot in which it boiled.
- Combine most of the sauce, the rigatoni, and the pasta water in the pot. Cook over medium heat until pasta reaches al dente and the sauce has thickened.
- Serve in flat bowls topped with a bit more of the sauce and finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.