Tagliatelle with Romesco Sauce and Italian Sausage
Working on your menu for the week ahead? Move the rest aside and give this gem a try! Romesco sauce is a favorite of ours, not only for the great flavor but also the versatility. It brings great depth to an otherwise simple pastas dish. While the sauce takes a bit of time to cook, it’s relatively hands off so start in the late afternoon or a day ahead of time. Any extra Romesco leftover? Serve with toasted pitas as a dip!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Romesco Sauce:
3 medium red bell peppers, seeds and stems removed, cut into 2-3” chunks
1 medium sweet onion, quartered and layers separated into petals
1 head of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
1/2 cup Marcona almonds or toasted sunflower seeds
4 oz sundried tomatoes in oil, undrained
2 tsp sherry vinegar
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Olive oil
Pasta:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1 shallot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb chorizo or Italian sausage
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 lb tagliatelle pasta (sub gluten free, if desired)
For serving:
Olive oil
Finishing salt
Black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel off any excess paper from the garlic head and trim ¼-½ inch off the non-root end to expose the tops of the garlic cloves. In an oven-proof pan or baking dish, place peppers, onion, garlic, and rosemary sprig. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, season with about a teaspoon kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and toss to coat vegetables. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for about an hour and a half, until the garlic cloves are softened.
While vegetables are roasting, toast the Marcona almonds in a dry pan on medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 5-7 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant.
Once garlic is cool enough to touch, squeeze cloves out of skin and transfer to the bowl of a food processor along with peppers, onions, and any extra oil or rosemary remaining in the dish. Discard rosemary stem and garlic skin.
To the food processor, add sundried tomatoes, toasted almonds, and vinegar and pulse until nuts and vegetables are broken up, then blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Set finished sauce aside and prepare rest of pasta dish.
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
While water is heating up, make sausage mixture. Heat a large, high sided skillet or Dutch over medium high heat and add about 2 tablespoons oil. Add onions, shallot and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly browned. Add sausage, fennel, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook 6-7 minutes, breaking up sausage into small pieces and stirring occasionally until browned.
Once sausage is well browned, add romesco sauce to pan and turn heat down to low. Use wooden spoon to break up any brown bits on bottom of pan. Gently stir to combine and simmer until pasta is done.
Once pasta water is boiling, add pasta. Cook for 8-9 minutes or until very al dente - the pasta will finish cooking in the sauce.
Drain al dente noodles, reserving ½ cup pasta water. Transfer noodles to sauce mixture and let simmer, adding a little pasta water if necessary to loosen sauce. Cook 3-4 mins or until noodles are cooked. Once heated through, check for seasoning and adjust to taste. Spoon pasta into serving bowls and top with grated parmesan, freshly ground black pepper, finishing salt and a drizzle of olive oil as desired.