Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

By kathya5084

In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening. Simple recipe and ingredients.

Ingredients

• 1 pound penne or medium shells (see note)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 8 hot Italian sausages, meat removed from casings and crumbled (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced basil

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.
Note: This makes enough for 4+ persons. I cooked 1/2 the pasta and entire mixture, but used 1/2 the mixture and refrigerated what was left.
Later in the week I heated the mixture in a skillet and made fresh pasta.