Conchiglie alla Salsiccia

Introduction

This dish has enough flavor to stand on its own as a vegetarian pasta if you leave out the salsiccia and add a bit more mushroom. Conchiglie is the right shape here because every shell catches sauce, sausage, and little bits of vegetables.

Step-by-step

Ingredients

• 400 g conchiglie (14 oz)
• 350 g raw salsiccia (12 oz)
• 250 g mushrooms, sliced or torn into chunks (9 oz)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 zucchini, halved and sliced
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 0.5-1 tsp dried chili flakes
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 0.5 tsp dried thyme
• 0.5 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
• 0.5 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 400 g passata (14 oz)
• 10 g salt for the pasta water, plus a little more to taste
• Black pepper
• 50 g parmesan, finely grated (2 oz)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Slice the mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, and onion so everything is ready before you start cooking.
2. Heat a large skillet or saute pan with the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the mushrooms, bell pepper, zucchini, and onion for 6-8 minutes until softened and starting to take on color.
3. Stir in the oregano, chili flakes, smoked paprika, thyme, rosemary, basil, and fennel seeds. Cook for 30 seconds so the spices bloom in the oil.
4. Squeeze the salsiccia out of its casing directly into the pan and break it up with a spoon. Cook for 5-6 minutes until fully cooked, with no pink remaining, and well browned.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add the passata and let the sauce simmer for 8-10 minutes until it reduces while you salt the pasta water and cook the conchiglie until al dente.
6. Reserve a little pasta water before draining. Toss the conchiglie with the sauce and loosen with a splash of pasta water if needed. Adjust with salt and black pepper.
7. Finish with parsley and parmesan. For a vegetarian version, skip the salsiccia and add another 150-200 g mushrooms (5-7 oz).

Serving Notes

If you can get multicolored shell pasta, use it. The dish looks better and still eats the same. Hold back on final seasoning until the end, since both the sausage and the parmesan bring salt.

Skrei Barbera d’Asti works well here because the high acidity matches the tomato sauce, the juicy fruit handles the chili heat, and the low tannin stays friendly with fennel and parmesan.