Pasta With White Sausage Sauce

By Mark Bittman

Pasta With White Sausage Sauce
Jim Wilson/The New York Times
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(4,616)
Comments
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Pasta and sausage are a combination that usually suggests a dense, heavy tomato sauce. But it can also mean the very opposite. Sausage, used in small amounts, can contribute to a relatively light, almost delicate pasta sauce. In fact, sausage is a gift to the minimalist cook: it comes already seasoned, and its seasoning can be used to flavor whatever goes with it.

The technique is simple. It's easiest to start with bulk sausage, or patties, because then there's no need to remove the meat from a casing. (Though that is easy to do: Just slit the casing with a sharp knife and peel it off.) You crumble the sausage into a little melted butter, which adds smoothness to the final sauce (omit it if you prefer), add water or other liquid and finish with grated Parmesan.

Featured in: The Minimalist; With Sausage, Just a Little Does a Lot

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 1tablespoon butter
  • ½pound sweet or hot Italian sausage (if using link sausage, remove it from the casing)
  • ½cup water, white wine or red wine
  • ½pound cut pasta like ziti
  • ½cup or more freshly grated Parmesan
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

474 calories; 22 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 45 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 544 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

  2. Step 2

    Put the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat. As it melts, crumble the sausage meat into it, making the bits quite small, ½ inch or less. Add the liquid, and adjust the heat so that the mixture simmers gently.

  3. Step 3

    Cook the pasta until it is tender but not at all mushy. Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta cooking water.

  4. Step 4

    Drain the pasta, and dress with the sauce, adding a little of the reserved cooking liquid if necessary. Toss with salt, pepper and Parmesan, and serve.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
4,616 user ratings
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Comments

Daniel

I didn't have any olive oil, so I used butter. And I didn't have pasta, so I used spaghetti squash. We also didn't have any parmesan, so I used sawdust instead. And my store was out of sausage, so we subbed some leftover dog food. Delicious!

olga

Sauté the meat, with butter or a bit of olive oil, Then add a couple of sliced garlic cloves and a half teaspoon or so of dried pepper flakes. As soon as the garlic becomes fragrant, maybe 45 seconds, add the wine or water

Dan

Fantastic recipe! It is easy, cheap and quick. I tried something different: I cooked it as directed. No changes. Also, I decided to experiment by cooking and eating it before I commented. I am glad I did. No regrets!

Carolyn

This is my favorite recipe. It is perfect for when you want takeout but don’t want to wait or pay for takeout. I have made it with many white wines, red wine, dry vermouth, and I think dry sherry, and it is always good. It is indulgent and made from ingredients you can always have on hand. I’ll make it forever.

cwm3rd

SO good…I stuck to the recipe (doubled it with a half pound each of sweet and hot sausage, left over from the wonderful NYT gnocchi with sausage and peas recipe; Pinot Grigio).

Diane

I made this exactly as per the recipe (with white wine) and it was simple and delicious – one of the best NY Times recipes I have tried. So much more flavourful than you might imagine. Braised chard on the side but any green would do. Gorgeous!

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