This is a Nigel Slater recipe which is fabulous, rich and unctious! I can feel the Southern Californian weather just start to nod towards Fall and that is my favorite season here.
This recipe is for 2 but you can easily double or treble it.
4 spicy Italian sausages
olive oil
4 handfuls (about 1/2 lb) of dried pasta. (any tube or shell shape that catches the sauce)
1 glass of white wine
dried chile flakes, a pinch or two
a small handful of chopped fresh basil, plus a few leaves for garnish
a tbsp of Dijon mustard, smooth or grainy
8 fl oz heavy cream
Put a large pan of water on to boil for the pasta.
Split the sausages open and take out the filling. Warm a little olive oil in a frying pan, just enough to lubricate the bottom.
Discard the sausage skin, crumble the meat into the hot pan and fry till sizzling and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Salt the water generously and add the pasta.
Pour the wine into the sausage pan and let it bubble a little, scraping up all the sticky sausage goo on the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chile flakes, season and add the chopped basil.
Add the mustard and pour in the cream and bring slowly to a simmer. Cook for a minutes or two, stirring now and again.
When the pasta is tender, about 9 minutes after coming to a boil, drain and tip into the creamy sausage sauce.
Serve piping hot garnished with a few sprigs of fresh basil