“Hot Tomato”

Spicy Charred Tomato Pasta with Hot Sausage

Featured Cocktail: Strawberry Negroni

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

NOTE: This is a method more than a recipe: per 4 people 8 cups chopped fresh escarole and 1 bulb fennel, quartered, cored and thinly sliced.  Add ½ small white or red onion, season with salt and fine black pepper and dress with juice of 1 lemon and about 3 T fruity olive oil.  Herbs that work are tarragon, parsley leaves and celery tops 

3 pints cherry tomatoes, stemmed

Non-aerosol cooking spray

Salt and pepper

1 pound of hot Italian sausage or 1 can 14 ounces chickpeas/garbanzo beans 

2 T EVOO

1 red onion, finely chopped

4 large cloves garlic, chopped or grated

1 T Calabrian chili paste or 1 t red chili flakes

1 t fennel pollen or ground fennel

½ cup red vermouth or red wine plus 1 t sugar

1 cup cherry tomato passata or passata or tomato sauce 

A small handful of basil leaves, torn  

About ½ cup heavy cream

1 pound casarecce or other short cut pasta 

1 cup grated pecorino cheese

Chopped parsley and/or fennel fronds to serve

Directions:

Heat oven to about 480 F, rack one above center.

Heat a large pot of water to boil for pasta.

Line large baking sheet with parchment and top with tomatoes, spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Roast 15 minutes, turning once to char, remove from oven.

Remove casing from sausage and brown and crumble in small nonstick pan sprayed with olive oil over medium high heat, reserve or, drain a can of chickpeas for meat-free preparation.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat with EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the red onions and season with a little salt, soften 2-3 minutes, add garlic, chili paste, fennel and stir 2 minutes more, add vermouth or wine and sugar and let absorb until 3-4 T remain, 1 minute.  Add roasted tomatoes and pasta, sausage or chickpeas and reduce heat too low. 

Add salt to water and boil pasta 1 minute less than package directions.

Add torn basil and cream to pasta sauce.

Reserve ½ cup water form pasta when it’s almost cooked to al dente then drain or use a spider to transfer to sauce.

Toss pasta and sauce together with grated cheese and use the pasta water if it becomes necessary to loosen the sauce if the dish looks too tight or not saucy enough.  Top with parsley and/or fennel fronds and serve.

Strawberry Negroni:

Gin, Red Vermouth, Campari, Muddled Strawberries, orange bitters, stirred and strained into ice filled rocks glass.  Garnish fresh strawberry, served over ice in rocks glass