Food & Wine (October 2008)
We know what you're thinking, because we thought it, too.
Mustard in pasta?
That's right, kids. It's in Food & Wine's October feature about the "30 Best Fast Dishes Ever."
Does this dish deserve a place on that list?
Well, this dish is certainly fast. Brown the sausage. Deglaze. Add the mustard, crushed red pepper and cream. Toss with pasta and basil.
Easy breezy.
Mustard throws us for a loop here. We can't recall ever having a mustardy sauce on pasta. Red sauces, white sauces, pink sauces, butter sauces -- sure! But mustard is a new one for us. And you know what? It's not bad.
The flavors produced by combining spicy sausage, mustard and cream -- and brightened by basil -- are extremely comforting. It's the sort of meal you want to come home to on a chilly evening.
Those who are sensitive about spice beware. The sausage we used -- combined with crushed red pepper -- created a sauce with substantial kick.
The author of this recipe is British. Perhaps mustardy pastas are a British thing? Anyone ever tried it?
Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard
Food & Wine (October 2008)
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(this photo: Food & Wine)
ACTIVE TIME: 10 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 20 MIN
SERVES: 4
In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening.
Ingredients
* 1 pound penne or medium shells
* 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
* 8 hot Italian sausages, meat removed from casings and crumbled (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* 3/4 cup dry white wine
* 3/4 cup heavy cream
* 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
* Pinch of crushed red pepper
* 1 cup thinly sliced basil
Directions
1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.
