My mother, who was born and raised in New Orleans, used a spicy sausage in certain dishes, such as, jambalaya, but never with pasta. So, I decided I’d give it a try. Using the ingredients I had on hand I came up with this recipe. This is a very flavorful pasta dish to wake up your taste-buds
Andouille is a spiced and heavily smoked pork sausage. It’s seasoned with salt, cracked black pepper and garlic. Next it’s smoked over pecan wood and sugar cane for up to eight hours. It really does give a special flavor to this dish and worth searching out. I use Aidells Cajun-style andouille which is fully cooked. Adding whole cherry or grape tomatoes to the pan and cooking them until they burst gives the dish balance and juicy fresh flavor. A drizzle of Robust Extra-Virgin is the finishing touch!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons Extra-Virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing (Robust)
- 1/2 large onion, chopped
- 2 green bell peppers, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 oz. andouille sausage, thinly sliced
- 2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 pound Mezzi Rigatoni pasta (mezzi means half in Italian, this pasta is half the size of rigatoni, creating the perfect bite)
- 2 tablespoons salt
- 1/4 cup basil, roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
- 4 oz. Parmesan cheese, grated
- Using a large skillet, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, peppers and garlic until soft and golden brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the sausage to the pan and cook until slightly browned. Toss in the tomatoes and cook until they burst.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of water with the salt.
- Before draining pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Toss the drained pasta into the skillet and then add the reserved pasta water. Toss in the basil and give it a stir.
- To serve, place in shallow bowls, top with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil.
