Gramigna with Sausage, Peas and Cream: Recipe from Emilia- Romagna.
There are many tasty pasta with sausage recipes here in Italy. But, this gramigna with sausage, peas and cream definitely ranks among my favourites. It’s perfect for both family meals and entertaining.
Gramigna alla salsiccia, panna e piselli
Gramigna with sausage is a traditional pasta dish from Bologna in Emilia-Romagna. There are actually two popular versions of this recipe. One version I posted here on The Pasta Project back in 2017. That one is super simple and made with just 3 ingredients, Italian pork sausage, tomatoes and onions. See the link at the end of this post.
This gramigna with sausage, peas and cream is also quite simple to make. The main difference between the 2 versions is that this one has no tomatoes. Sauces without tomatoes are referred to as ‘bianco’ in Italy, meaning white.
Instead of tomatoes, this recipe uses cream. Purists prefer to use a little milk and some parmigiano cheese to make the sauce white. However, there are many Italian recipes online with cream. I more or less followed the recipe by Italian celebrity food blogger and TV chef Chiara Maci, who I actually met recently.
Fresh or frozen peas?
Peas are a common addition to white gramigna with sausage. I used my own homegrown peas and since they were so good, I decided to puree some of the cooked peas to make a creamy bed for the pasta! Plus, I also added some of the puree to the sauce. This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen peas and even without the pea puree! You can just add some peas to the sauce. However, I think the puree adds an elegant touch and makes this dish extra tasty!
What is gramigna pasta?
Gramigna is an unusual pasta. It is mostly eaten only in Emilia-Romagna. Originally, it was a homemade fresh pasta, but nowadays you can find it dried too. This pasta is hollow and short, a bit like small bucatini. However, it’s not straight but squiggly! How squiggly depends on whether it’s homemade or dried. The name ‘gramigna’ is actually the Italian name for couch grass, a very invasive type of weed! I fight a constant battle in my garden against couch grass! You can read more in my gramigna post.
For this gramigna with sausage, peas and cream I used white and green gramigna. There are a number of types of pasta that Italians make and sell or serve in these two colours. But, this is mostly done with egg pasta and the green colour is made by adding fresh spinach to the pasta dough. Italians call this bi-coloured pasta ‘paglia e fieno’, meaning straw and hay.
Other pasta you can use
If gramigna is not available where you live, this recipe is very good with other small pasta tubes such as penne or ditali. However, you may be able to find gramigna pasta for sale online. Companies that make it include De Cecco, Divella and Granoro.
What kind of sausage should you use?
I have developed a great love for pasta with sausage! When I first started The Pasta Project, I’d never cooked pasta with sausage. Now, I do it very very often. Among my favourites are pasta alla Norcina from Umbria and bigoli with luganega sausage, a recipe from here in Veneto where I live. I also really like a Sicilian pasta recipe made with broccoli, sausage and chard. And now I’m adding this gramigna with sausage, peas and cream to my favourite sausage pasta recipes.
Like many traditional Italian recipes, the original dish is made with local ingredients. Each Italian region makes local types of sausage. Some add herbs or spice to the meat for flavour. For example, in Sicily, they make pork sausages with wild fennel or fennel seeds in them.
This recipe calls for very simple Italian pork sausages. Using sausages with herbs or spices will. of course, change the taste of the finished dish.
Other ingredients
Apart from the peas, sausage and pasta, this recipe has white wine (which you can leave out if you prefer), rosemary, onion and cream. Italians usually use a heavy cream in cooking called ‘panna da cucina’. This is actually not fresh but comes in small boxes! However, you can use fresh cream too.
If you make this gramigna with sausage, peas and cream, I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you liked it. Please leave a comment here on the blog or on The Pasta Project Facebook page.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Buon appetito!
Pin for Later
Other pasta recipes from Emilia-Romagna.
- 12 Emilia-Romagna Pasta Recipes.
- Baked Passatelli with Pancetta and Pine nuts.
- Baked Pasta Roses with ham and cheese
- Emilia-Romagna
- Farfalle pasta: Butterflies and Bow Ties
Save this recipe for later?
If you want to save this recipe for later, you can print it, bookmark this page or save it to Pinterest.
Gramigna with Sausage, Peas and Cream.
Equipment
- frying pan or skillet
- food blender or processor
- large pot for pasta
Ingredients
- 400 g gramigna pasta (14oz) or other short pasta such as penne
- 4 Italian pork sausages casing removed
- 1-2 onions depending on size
- 350 g peas (12oz) fresh or frozen
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
- 1/2 glass white wine
- 200 ml heavy cream (7floz)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- rosemary fresh or dried
- salt for pasta and to taste
- ground black pepper to taste
- Parmigiano cheese grated (if required)
Instructions
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil
and bring to the boil again. Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the onions. Remove sausage casing and crumble the meat with your hands or chop with a knife. Remove rosemary leaves from sprig if using fresh rosemary.
Cook the peas in a saucepan in which you have sautéed some of the finely chopped onion in olive oil and added a cup of broth or stock. Cook until ready but still firm. Fresh peas will take longer than frozen peas.- Fry the rest of the onion in the olive oil in a large frying pan or skillet. Once the onion starts to soften add the sausage meat and rosemary.
- Let the sausage brown a little and then add the white wine. Let the alcohol evaporate and add half the peas. Add salt if necessary, I didn’t add it since the sausage was already a bit salty. Add black pepper and then the cream. Cook everything together for 5 minutes.
Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet.
While the pasta is cooking puree the rest of the peas using a blender or food processor.
If necessary add some of the pasta cooking water if the puree seems too thick.
Add half the puree to the sausage sauce. Stir to combine.
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sausage, pea and cream sauce. Mix
everything together well.
Put some of the remaining pea puree in the bottom of each bowl or plate and top with the gramigna with sausage, peas and cream. Serve with grated Parmigiano cheese and more pepper to taste.
Notes
Kelly Anthony says
Pasta and peas is one of my favorites. This gramigna with sausage peas and cream looks like the perfect balanced meal.
Jenni LeBaron says
This is perfectly creamy. I love the sausage and peas together in this and am positive it would be a winning dinner in my home!
Heather Behrends says
I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under, but this is a combination I never would have thought of. But it looks completely amazing!
Jacqui says
Grazie Heather! Pasta with sausage is a delicious combination and very popular here in Italy. You can use cream to make a white sauce or tomatoes to make a red one!
prabhu says
actually i am fan of pasta dishes, and i have tasted so many pasta but this one i have seen totally different, and today i tried with same recipe you mentioned, if you have any image upload option, i send you and wont believe its so tasty!
Thanks for wonderful dish.
Jacqui says
So happy you enjoyed this dish Prabhu! You can upload a photo to The Pasta Project Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pastablogger) if you like. I’d love to see your pasta with sausage!
Lathiya says
The pasta it self looks super cute. Thank you for giving the ideas to choose fresh or frozen peas. The pasta looks delicious.
Jacqui says
Gramigna is a nice pasta Lathiya! It’s traditional and very popular in Bologna, where it’s mostly eaten with a sausage sauce!
Simone says
Don’t cook with sausage much, but this looks so delicious! I’m going to have to find a good quality sausage to make this with the next time I go to Earth Fare (a local health food store that sells meats too).
Jacqui says
Sausage and pasta is a great combination Simone, very popular in Italy. The sausage meat really adds flavour to the sauce. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it if you try it!
Roxana says
I love pasta. And that gramigna pasta looks nice with peas and I also like that you added parmesan. Will get that pasta.
Jacqui says
Gramigna is a great pasta Roxana. I hope you’ll manage to find and try some!
Sonila says
Anytime I visit your blog I learn something new!! I didn’t know what gramigna was. This pasta dish looks absolutely divine too:)). It made me smile the way you described white sauce because I honestly make it with either milk or cream, whatever I have handy. Kids love both versions as long as I exaggerate on parmesan lol. Beautiful dish!!!
Jacqui says
Thanks so much Sonila! Gramigna is a very tasty type of pasta. Even the dried version is usually made with eggs so it has a different flavour to normal dried pasta. Kids in Italy love pasta with sausage and usually lots of grated cheese too!
Toni says
This was so tasty! Such a satisfying meal!
Jacqui says
So glad you liked this pasta with sausage Toni! I agree it’s very tasty!
Beth Pierce says
What a savory dinner recipe! I’ve never tried this before but it looks so flavorful and appetizing; excited to try this for dinner tonight!
Jacqui says
Thank you Beth! I hope you enjoyed this pasta with sausage and peas!I think it’s a great combination!
debi at Life Currents says
This dish looks amazing. I love peas, and I think I have all the ingredients in the kitchen now!
Jacqui says
Thanks so much Debi! I love peas too. In fact, we grow them in our garden so I made this with our own peas!
Courtney | Love & Good Stuff says
Fresh, flavourful and easy to make – my family loved this!
Jacqui says
I’m so happy to hear your family loved this gramigna with sausage and peas Courtney. I think this makes a tasty family meal!
Aimee DiPasquale says
I never really liked peas but I have never tried them in a sauce with pasta. anything is good with pasta.
Jacqui says
Peas go so well with pasta Aimee. Italians use them a lot in many pasta recipes. I hope you’ll try and like peas with pasta too!
Angela Greven | Mean Green Chef says
This looks like a stellar recipe! I make a lot of my own pasta but totally want to try gramigna pasta now, love the flavor combinations here. Thanks so much for sharing, also signing up for your email list. Love it!
Jacqui says
Thanks so much Angela! Gramigna is a yummy pasta. I hope you’ll be able to find some. It’s great you make your own pasta too. I love homemade pasta!
Ginny says
I absolutely love pasta dishes and this one with peas is so original to my house. Looks delicious!
Jacqui says
Thanks Ginny! Pasta with peas is one of my hubby’s favourites and there are quite a lot of Italian pasta recipes with peas as the star!
Edyta says
This is so amazing that I want to eat the whole pan by myself. We will be making this pasta often in my house.
Jacqui says
I know how you feel Edyta! I could eat a whole pan of this gramigna with sausage and peas by myself too! I’m sure your family will love it!
Paula Montenegro says
I always find new pasta names here! Love it with peas. But the season is so short, I usually have frozen. Which are great too.
Jacqui says
There are so so many types of pasta here in Italy Paula! Hundreds actually, so what I have used in my recipes is still only the tip of the pasta iceberg! We also love pasta with peas and grow our own peas which I freeze and use throughout the year. So, yes frozen peas are great too!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy says
I LOVE the look of that pasta. I need to hunt some of that down in the store. This pasta recipe sounds amazing.
Jacqui says
Thanks so much Gloria! Gramigna is a very tasty pasta. I hope you’ll manage to find some. It goes so well with sausage. In fact, sauageis the most traditional ingredient in gramigna pasta recipes here in Italy!
Taylor Kiser says
Love how easy this pasta dish is to make! It’s sure to be on dinner repeat!
Jacqui says
Happy you like this gramigna with sausage recipe Taylor! Yes it’s pretty easy to make so a great family dinner dish!