Let's talk, pasta. Home made or store bought. Well whichever you choose won't matter because the arrabbiata sauce with licorice flavors from the Italian sausage and fennel seeds will be enough to forget you were eating pasta. That and the oh so creamy buratta and basil and parsley herbs to give it the spring freshness right to your dinner table. Enjoy.
- 227 grams lingunie pasta (8 oz pack)
- 300 grams spicy Italian sausage, uncooked (10.5 oz)
- 2 shallots, sliced
- 100 grams mushrooms, roughly chopped (shiitake or white button mushrooms) (3.5 oz)
- 250 grams eggplant (9 oz)
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
- salt to taste
- 2 lemon zest
- 1.5 cups arabitta sauce (12 oz)
- 3 tbsp oil
- Some olive oil to drizzle over eggplant
- Fresh herbs (Basil or parsley or combination of both)
- Few green olives
- burrata cheese for topping
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Preheat the oven to 375 degree F. Slice eggplant into circular discs, around 1- 1.5 inches thickness. Drizzle some olive oil and roast in the preheated oven for 25- 35 minutes. Turn them half through. Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the slices. Once the eggplant is cooked, cut each disc into half or thirds depending on how big the size it. You could also roughly chop them up. Meanwhile make the sauce.
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Get the sausage meat out of the casing and using a fork, break down the meat.
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In a heavy bottom skillet heat 1 tbsp oil and add the minced Italian sausage meat. on a medium low heat, cook for about 5 minutes while breaking down the meat in the pan. Once the meat of 90% cooked, remove it from the pan and keep it aside.
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In the same pan, add the rest of the oil (2tbsp). heat it on medium heat. Then add, fennel seeds, garlic and citrus zest. Sauce for 5-10 seconds.
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Add the sliced onions and chopped mushrooms. Sauce on medium heat till onions are translucent and mushrooms are cooked. This might take 5-8 minutes.
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Then add in the chili flakes, thyme and black pepper powder. Give it a quick stir.
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Now add the cooked sausage meat and the arrabbiata sauce. Mix it well and cover the pan. Cook on low for 7-8 minutes. Check for salt and other seasoning.
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Add the fresh herbs, and the sliced roasted eggplant. Give it a quick mix and turn off the heat. Add the reserved pasta water if the sauce gets too thick. Mix in the cooked pasta and mix it well.
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To cook pasta, follow the instructions on the packet. Reserve the pasta water and drain the rest. Add this boiled pasta immediately to the cooked sauce.
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To serve, put some pasta into your serving dishes and add some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Top it off with some burrata and fresh basil. Add the green olives if you wish. Enjoy it hot.