Margarita's International Recipes

Lombardy

Pasta alla Monzese Pasta with Sausage and Saffron Pasta alla Monzese comes from the Brianca region of Lombardy, where the city of Monza, as well as Lake Como, are located. While the latter is precisely where my ancestors are from, I'd never had this dish before. That is a pity, as it was both relatively easy to make and deeply satisfying. In Brianca, it's made with with a sausage called luganega di Monza, which is pretty impossible to find in the US, so I substituted with regular Italian sausage. Apparently the flavors are pretty similar. The use of saffron is a peculiarity of Lobardian cuisine and it provided a subtle but very tasty seasoning to the sauce. I'd make it again. PRINT PDF Pasta alla Monzese Ingredients 3/4 tsp saffron threads 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb Luganega or Italian sausage salt to taste 3 Tbsp Marsala or Madeira wine 1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream ground black pepper to taste 1 lb penne rigatte 1/3 - 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Add the water and saffron to the sauce. Stir and mix well. Raise the heat to thicken the sauce. Cook the pasta al dente according to the instructions on the packet. When the pasta is ready, save a cup of the cooking water and drain it. Add the pasta to the pan along with the grated cheese. Mix everything together well. If the sauce seems dry add some of the pasta cooking water. Serve immediately Directions Place saffron threads in a small bowl, cover them with a little bit of water and set aside. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove the meat from the sausage casings and add to the pan, discarding the casings. Sauté, breaking into small pieces with a wooden spool, until brown. Meanwhile, put a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the Marsala wine to the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, until it evaporates. Turn heat down to medium and stir in the whipping cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for 10 minutes. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook per manufacturers instructions. Add the saffron water to the sausage and stir well. When the pasta is ready, drain, reserving a cup of pasta water. Add the pasta and the cheese to the sausage and mix well. If it's too dry, stir in a little bit of pasta water. Serve. Adapted from a recipe at The Pasta Project Do you have a comment on this recipe? Please make it here Lombard Recipes | Marga's International Recipes | Marga's Best Recipes | Marga's Food Blog | E-mail