This is my supermarket version of the famous amatriciana sauce that is usually made with guanciale (cured pork cheek) and bucatini pasta. It is delicious, but sadly, it’s made with ingredients I can’t buy at my supermarket. So this is my version and I’m really happy with the flavours. If you’re cooking this for kids, you can reduce the amount of chilli, or simply omit. The flavours from the chorizo and sweet onions do wonders for this sauce.
What you’ll need:
1 tbs olive oil
200g chorizo sausage, diced
2 red onions, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
800g canned diced tomatoes
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
400g linguine
250g ricotta
¼ cup finely grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
Fresh basil, to serve
What to do:
Heat oil in a large saucepan or frypan over medium heat. Add chorizo and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until the fat renders out of the sausage and it begins to crisp. Add the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the wine and simmer for a couple minutes until reduced to a tablespoon or so. Stir through the tomatoes and chilli flakes, cover and cook on low for 25 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, place ricotta and parmesan in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy, adding a touch of milk if it’s too thick. Set aside.
Cook linguine for 8 minutes or until al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water, then drain and add linguine to sauce along with the reserved pasta water. Toss to combine and coat the pasta with the sauce. Divide between 4 bowls and spoon over some ricotta. Top with extra parmesan, basil and freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4.
