Creamy Sausage, Saffron & Porcini Sauce with Rigatoni

This recipe is a riff on a ragu alla monzese - a rich and creamy sausage and saffron sauce from the Lombardy region in Northern Italy. Marsala wine, saffron, Italian sausage and porcini mushrooms bring big, big flavours, with the creamy base providing the comfort levels. A short pasta is best paired with this sauce, and rigatoni works especially well.  

Serves four  

Ingredients:

• 300g rigatoni 
• ½ tsp saffron threads, soaked in 25ml warm water 
• 20g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 5 minutes, then drained 
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil   
• 4 Italian sausage links, removed from their casing 
• 2 tablespoons Marsala wine  
• 225ml cream 
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter  
• 50g Parmigiano Reggiano finely grated, plus extra to serve 

Method:

Sauce 

1. Cook the rigatoni in a large pot of generously salted water according to packet instructions. 
2. Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a large saute pan over a medium heat, followed by the sausage meat, breaking it up into small pieces using the back of a spoon. Cook the sausage until it’s nicely coloured and starting to get a little crispy - around 7 minutes.  
3. Add the Marsala wine to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up any crispy bits of sausage. 
4. After a minute or two, pour in the cream, followed by the saffron and water it’s been soaking in.  
5. Stir through the drained porcini mushrooms and let the sauce simmer away over a very low heat until your pasta is suitably al dente. 
6. Transfer the cooked pasta directly to the sauce along with some of the pasta water, 1 tablespoon of butter and the grated Parmigiano.  
7. Toss well, adding pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce - season to taste.  
8. Divide between bowls and serve with extra grated Parmigiano.  

This recipe was created by Gabriella from @_noregrettispaghetti, check out Gabriella's instagram page here or website here. 

Gabriella is a Londoner born to Armenian/Canadian parents, with a love of all things Italian, especially pasta. She fell in love with food between the pages of her mum’s Reader’s Digest cookbooks, and at the table of her grandmother’s Cypriot kitchen, watching dolma be rolled and lahmajun made. 

When she’s not making her favourite carb, she can be found sharing some of her recipes on her blog, drinking far too much coffee, or hanging out with her dog, Gordon.