What exactly is salsiccia?

Salsiccia is an Italian fresh sausage, often flavored with fennel seeds, hence the name fennel sausage. This spicy, slightly anise-like touch is exactly what makes this salsiccia sausage recipe so recognizable.

Can I substitute salsiccia with another sausage?

If you can't find fennel sausage, you can, in a pinch, resort to a spicy Italian sausage without fennel seeds, though you'll lose that typical accent.

Why does the sauce for salsiccia pasta need to simmer for so long?

An hour of simmering seems long, but believe me, it's exactly what makes this pasta con salsiccia so flavorful. During simmering, the herbs, wine, and tomatoes meld together completely, creating a deep, rich sauce instead of a flat tomato sauce.

Can I make this dish in advance?

Absolutely, and this sauce even benefits from it. Feel free to make the salsiccia sauce a day in advance, so the flavors have extra time to mature. However, only cook the pasta just before serving so it stays nicely al dente.

Pasta with sausage

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30min + 1 hour simmering

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Next Level

Give me a dish that takes time to come into its own, and this pasta salsiccia is the perfect example of that. It's not about quickly putting something on the table, but a sauce that can simmer gently for an hour until every flavour has fully settled. Garlic, a spicy pepper, fresh herbs, and hearty pieces of fennel sausage, together with sweet cherry tomatoes and a splash of red wine, form a sauce I never get tired of. This salsiccia recipe is my go-to when friends come over.

Ingredients

What do you need?

Quantity: 2P

2 to 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 red chili, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 handful of fresh basil
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 sprigs of thyme
3 large fennel sausages
2 handfuls of fresh cherry tomatoes
1 glass of red wine
2 cans of cherry tomatoes (instead of large canned tomatoes, buy cherry tomatoes, which are sweeter and tastier for this dish)
300 g pasta of your choice (e.g., pappardelle)
pepper and salt
olive oil

Preparation method

How do you make this?

Place a large stew pot with olive oil on the heat.

Add the garlic, red chili, and onion to the warm oil. Add the herbs (basil, rosemary, and thyme).

Cut the fennel sausage into pieces. I personally like slightly larger pieces, as it's nice to taste/see them among the pasta.

Fry the pieces of fennel sausage in a pan with olive oil.

Meanwhile, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add them to the onion, garlic, and chili. Let simmer over medium heat.

When the fennel sausage is almost done, turn the heat up slightly and pour in a glass of red wine. Let it reduce so that the alcohol evaporates.

Add everything in the pan to the tomatoes and finally add the two cans of cherry tomatoes to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Let this delicious sauce simmer on low heat for at least 1 hour. It is important that the sauce stews for a while so that all the flavors can blend together.

Finally, cook the pasta. I like to use wide pappardelle or rigatoni. Make sure the pasta is still al dente, as that makes it much tastier. Mix everything together. Place in a large dish and sprinkle some fresh Parmesan cheese on top. Set the dish in the center of the table.