Fresh Tomato and Herb Sauce with Italian Sausage
Take a bowl full of plump, ripe tomatoes plus a handful of sweet basil and the light, peppery bite of parsley and simmer in a dry white wine along with Italian sausage and just a tad of red pepper flakes. Then toss in a batch of steaming fusilli and you’ve got yourself a great bowl of pasta in about 30 minutes!
Equipment
- Two large stockpots
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed
- 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
- 1-¼ pounds fresh Campari or Roma tomatoes, peeled* and chopped, about 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus extra for serving
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 small can tomato paste, 6-ounces
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus extra for cooking the pasta
- ¾ cup dry white wine, such Sauvignon Blanc
- 4 cups dried fusilli
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
- Grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- *To peel fresh tomatoes:
- Cut an “x” across the bottom of the tomatoes and gently place them into a large pan of boiling water. Boil for 1 minute then transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl filled with ice water.
- When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the peel from the tomatoes.
- Warm the olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Remove the casings from the sausage and break it up in pieces as you add it to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sausage is barely pink in the center, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Drain any excess drippings from the sausage.
- Add the chopped tomatoes along with the parsley, basil, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, kosher salt and white wine. Continue to cook over low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.
- While the sauce cooks, bring a large stockpot of water, heavily salted (I use a handful of kosher salt) to a boil over medium heat. Add the fusilli and cook for about 9 minutes, or until almost tender.
- Transfer the fusilli to the sauce along with ¼ cup of the pasta water. Stir to coat the pasta, cover and cook for an additional 3 minutes over low heat.
- Serve with a sprinkling of chopped parsley and Parmesan cheese.