As you may or may not know, I love anything that celebrates Milan in any shape or form, particularly when it comes to food, whether it’s a burger and cocktail pairing, a panettone or cassoeula and, I never fail to associate saffron, the ingredient that gives risotto alla Milanese its signature golden hue, with my adopted city. During a recent in-office work lunch, the perfume of saffron enveloped and damn near hypnotized me, so I followed my nose to the source: Saffron pasta with sausage, which immediately stirred my taste buds and made my little home-made chicken, rice and veggies repast all the less appealing.
I couldn’t get the saffron pasta out of my mind and then, to add insult to injury, saffron pasta with sausage started popping up left and right in all my social network feeds. My fate was sealed: I just had to give the recipe a try. Honestly, saffron pasta is one of the easiest dishes to make and I don’t really consider the preparation a “recipe” as it’s a matter of using your own judgement, but regardless, here’s my saffron pasta with sausage (non) recipe.
200 grams pasta (I used Pasta Mancini mezze maniche)
3 pieces of sausage
1 onion
2 garlic cloves (I always go over on the garlic because I like to eat it)
Pinch of saffron
Salt and pepper
Parmigiano-Reggiano
Olive oil
Add a pinch of saffron to water in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add salt to the water and cook the pasta until al dente. (Usually between 7 to 8 minutes).
Remove the sausage from their casings.
Heat the olive oil and add garlic and onions. After a few minutes, add the sausage and cook over medium heat with the garlic and onions.
As the pasta is boiling, add a ladleful of the starchy pasta water to the sausage (use judgement…add more or less if you think it’s necessary), then drain the pasta. Reserve some pasta water in case you think you might need to add more.
Add the pasta to the sausage, mix together and let cook for about a minute. Add freshly grated parmesan cheese and it will melt onto the pasta.
Put the pasta into bowls and serve; add more freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you wish.
