Spicy Sausage Pasta (Fileja alla Silana)
Dive into the heart of Calabria with this robust and flavorful spicy sausage pasta! A traditional pasta recipe from La Sila, a picturesque mountainous plateau in Southern Italy, this dish beautifully showcases the region's traditional ingredients.
Servings: 4
Calories: 968kcal
Ingredients
- 14 oz fileja pasta or rigatoni or other short pasta tubes
- 10 fresh tomatoes blanched and peeled (see note)
- 14 oz tomato passata or polpa. I used polpa from Mutti
- 3 ½ oz guanciale (pork cheek) 2 thick slices cut into small cubes or pancetta
- 3 ½ oz soppressata or other spicy salami/sausage cut into cubes
- 5 oz caciocavallo Silano or provola, provolone or mozzarella cut into cubes
- 1 red onion I used a Tropea onion from Calabria. Peeled and chopped
- 2 oz dried porcini (2oz) or 4oz frozen. Dried need to be soaked in warm water.
- 1 handful pecorino grated
- 1 handful basil leaves
- 1-2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes (red chili pepper) as required
- 2-3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 fl oz whiskey or brandy
- salt for pasta and to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper. to taste
Instructions
- If using dried porcini, soak them in warm water for 20-30 minutes.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil. Add the guanciale, soppressata, and peperoncino flakes. Cook until the guanciale fat starts to become translucent. Pour in the whiskey and allow the alcohol to evaporate.
- As the guanciale turns crispy, add the peeled tomatoes and cook over moderate heat until they start to soften.
- After mix in the tomato passata until well incorporated.
- Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt once it starts to boil. Once the water returns to a boil, cook the pasta al dente based on its packaging instructions.
- Meanwhile, as the pasta is cooking, add the soaked porcini mushrooms and its soaking liquid to the pan with the sauce. Adjust the seasonings with salt and black pepper, and let it simmer on low heat until the pasta is ready..
- Drain the cooked pasta and mix it into the sauce. Fold in the basil and caciocavallo cheese. Let it sit briefly to allow the cheese to melt slightly before serving.
- Serve the pasta immediately, finishing it off with a sprinkle of grated pecorino.
Notes
- I like to use a mixture of fresh peeled tomatoes and polpa or passata. However, you can use just peeled tomatoes or just polpa or passata. In which case, increase the quantity of which ever you use. Double the number of tomatoes or use 50% more passata.
- I used dried fileja pasta from Bottega di Calabria (see post for more info). You can use other types of short pasta like rigatoni if you don't have fileja.
- If you have leftovers, they are fabulous baked. Just put the leftovers in an oven dish, add more pieces of caciocavallo and a sprinkling of pecorino on top. Bake in a preheated oven (180°c) until the top is crispy.
Nutrition
Calories: 968kcal | Carbohydrates: 109g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1070mg | Potassium: 1747mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 3353IU | Vitamin C: 55mg | Calcium: 274mg | Iron: 5mg