Succulently Simple Shepherd's Pasta: Rigatoni with Basil, Ricotta, and Sausage

 

We've had quite a bit more on our hands than usual thanks to the arrival of Pepper, and so we've been in need of simple recipes. This one certainly fits the bill. Coming it at a total of four major ingredients (not including the olive oil and spices), it's hard to get more simple than this.

The dish is called "Shepherd's Pasta" because, according to Lidia Bastianich, it's what would be prepared by the shepherd based on whatever they had available. So while we used basil, really whatever herb you have on hand would qualify, and similarly while we used sausage, any other form of ground meat would also work equally well (although we contend that sausage gives it the best flavor).

Making the Dish
What You'll Need

1/2 lb rigatoni
2 links sweet italian sausage
1 cup basil
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tsp salt and pepper
to taste chile flakes

Start off by boiling your water with a touch of salt, and then drop in the pasta. For this dish we recommend rigatoni, since there's a lot of surface area for the ingredients to cling to, but ziti or penne would also be a good substitute. You'll be cooking the pasta almost all the way to the package directions, taking it out about 30 seconds or so shy of that time. Normally we suggest cooking to a minute shy of the package directions and finishing in the sauce, but in this case the sauce will be heated by the pasta, so you'll have to nearly finish it.

Starting to saute the sausage with a touch of olive oil.

While the pasta is cooking, remove the sausage from the casing and sear it up. You'll want this in a very hot pan so you can get a nice golden brown sear on it, breaking it up while it's cooking. Season it with a touch salt and pepper, and add some red chili flakes. If you're using a less lean sausage, like a pork based one, take care to drain out some of the fat as it renders.

Creating a pan sauce with the browned sausage.

After removing some of the fat (you'll want no more than a teaspoon or so), add in a ladle of the pasta water to the pan. Swish it around and let it come to a boil. You'll notice a sort of sauce start to form. After the pasta water has reduced by about half, remove the pan from heat.

Adding the pasta to the pan sauce.

As the pasta is finishing up, slice up the basil into thin strips. Remove the pasta from the water and throw it into the pan with the sausage and pan sauce. Toss it together until the pasta is entirely covered. 

The pasta starts to get covered with the pan sauce.

Then in a large bowl, add the pasta and the basil, and a half cup to a cup of the best fresh ricotta you can find. Mix everything together, adding more pasta water to help melt the ricotta if necessary. 

Basil and ricotta on top of the covered rigatoni.

Stir it until it gets to the desired consistency, and then serve.

The Wine
Such a simple dish presents a great opportunity to have a really phenomenal wine and let the individual flavors shine. With this dish we had one of our all time favorite wines, a 2006 Cabernet Sauvingnon from Wattle Creek Winery.

Wattle Creek 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

We've written about Wattle Creek before, and we'll probably continue to do so time and time again. Their wines are rich and flavorful but entirely drinkable, and this was no exception. It stood up to the heat from the chile flakes well and really helped to elevate the level of the entire meal.

The Result
We're sometimes amazed how a few ingredients, when paired correctly, can create an experience so much greater than their two parts.

This dish is a perfect example of that in action. The spice of the sausage is cooled by the ricotta and sweetened by the basil, al pulled together by the starchy sweet flavor of the pasta. Delicious!

What's your favorite simple meal? Share it with us in the comments below!

Full ingredient list after the break.