In-House Cook: Fettuccine with Linguica Family Dinner

Friday, July 20, 2018

Fettuccine with Linguica Family Dinner

Fettuccini with Linguica

I was raised on spaghetti with hamburger meat and tomato sauce, which I very much liked, but as an adult, my palette has expanded and sometimes, less is more to me. I have found that to be true with pizza, too; the fewer the items the more the flavors delight the taste buds. Again, that is just my opinion. With that in mind, I made a pantry pasta with a few key ingredients to enable pasta pandemonium! Let's get to it, shall we?

Ingredients:

1/2 pound fettuccine pasta

1 pound Linguica sausage, sliced

4 leaves basil, chiffonade + garnish

1 shallot sliced into slivers

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated

2 tablespoons Parmesan, shaved or grated

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning

salt for the pasta water

2 tabs of butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Prep the shallot, garlic and basil and slice the linguica on a separate cutting board. In addition, add about four quarts of water to a pot and bring it to a roiling boil. When the water boils, liberally salt the water. It's the only chance you really get to season the pasta.

Liberally salt the water when it boils and add the fettuccine. Cook about twelve minutes.

Meanwhile, saute the sliced linguica in a small saute pan with the olive oil and the dry Italian seasoning. Allow the rounded edges to caramelize, which will add tremendous flavor.

When the pasta is done, reserve a 1/4 cup of pasta water and strain the pasta. Add the butter, shallot, garlic, tomato paste and half of the basil to the pot over medium-high heat. Saute three minutes and add the pasta, and a good splash of the pasta water. Toss thoroughly and add some of the shaved Parmesan.

Serve family style or individually plated. Garnish with the remaining basil and shaved or grated Parmesan.