Pasta with Sausage, Basil and Mustard

• Recipe by Nigel Slater

In matching spicy sausage with a creamy mustard sauce and fragrant basil, British cookbook author Nigel Slater created a quick pasta supper with warm, mildly spicy flavors, perfect for a cool fall or winter evening.

Ingredients

1. 1 pound penne or medium shells
2. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3. 8 hot Italian sausages, meat removed from casings and crumbled (about 1 1/2 pounds)
4. 3/4 cup dry white wine
5. 3/4 cup heavy cream
6. 3 tablespoons grainy mustard
7. Pinch of crushed red pepper
8. 1 cup thinly sliced basil

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage meat and brown over moderately high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.