Bucatini with Sausage and Peas

• Recipe by Joe Sponzo

Bucatini is a large, tubular pasta (think spaghetti with a hole in the middle). It’s great with thick sauces, such as this tomato-based one that Sponzo enhances with peas from his garden and wild boar sausage from his local butcher. “It’s a real guy dish and a favorite of Sting’s—when he’s eating meat,” Sponzo says. “Right now he’s macrobiotic.”

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
3. 2 garlic cloves, minced
4. 1 small shallot, minced
5. 2 1/2 cups prepared tomato sauce
6. 1/4 cup heavy cream
7. 1/2 cup frozen baby peas
8. Salt
9. 1 pound bucatini or perciatelli
10. 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
11. 2 tablespoons shredded basil

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausage and cook over moderately high heat, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and shallot and cook, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer.
2. Partially cover the saucepan and cook the tomato sauce over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream and peas and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes longer. Season with salt.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Add the tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of the grated Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese and toss over low heat for 2 minutes, until the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Transfer the pasta to bowls, top with the remaining 1/4 cup of grated cheese and the shredded basil and serve.

Make Ahead

The sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.