Spicy Sausage and Corn Pasta

There are a handful of quick pasta dishes in my arsenal, but this one is a favorite amongst my family and friends who like a little spice. Of course, you could scale back on the heat, and it’ll be just as good, but we all need a little spice in our lives.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of any hearty pasta that holds sauce (like orecchiette, penne, or rigatoni)

• Extra-virgin olive oil 

• Kosher salt & pepper

• 1 pound spicy Italian sausage

• 1 large shallot or 1/4 onion, diced 

• 2 cup frozen corn 

• 8 ounces mascarpone

• 1 tablespoon Calabrian chili paste or 1 1/2 teaspoons of red chili flakes

• 1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano 

• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped into ribbons (we call that chiffonade)

Steps:

1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and brown sausage, making sure you break up the sausage into smaller pieces. Add the shallots/onion and a dash of Kosher salt & pepper, and cook until softened.

2. Stir in the corn, and cook, stirring often, until the corn is warmed through. Add the mascarpone and melt into the sauce. Add the chili paste or red chili flakes. Cover skillet and set off the heat.

3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the penne and cook until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain well.

4. Combine hot pasta with the sauce, parmesan, and basil, and toss until everything is coated. If the sauce needs to be thinned out, use a little of the pasta water (1 tablespoon at at time), but usually, you won’t need to do this.

5. Taste and adjust seasoning with Kosher salt & pepper. Plate the pasta in a big bowl, grab a fork, and tear it up. Hope you put on sweatpants.

Yep, works with any pasta! Here it is with penne.