Pasta Shells with Sausage

Adapted from Marcella's Italian Kitchen by Marcella Hazan

Marcella recommends shell shaped pasta here, and she's right about this - the bits of sausage nestle inside the shells perfectly. I use the shell shape of Faella pasta called Tofe, and I get it online from Gustiamo.

The first time I ever ate this, Tracey and I cooked dinner together at what was then her new house. We sat in her kitchen, which was surrounded by windows on three sides, and it was like sitting in a little treehouse. When we started to eat this pasta , we literally did not say one word. It was so good we were speechless!

Sausage Removed from Casing and Flattened

Pasta Shells with Sausage

½ pound mild pork sausage 
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
⅔ cup canned Italian peeled plum tomatoes, cut coarse, with their juice
¼ cup or a little less of heavy cream
Salt
Black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Enough for 1 pound of pasta shells
Freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano

If the sausage is in a casing, squeeze it out onto a plate. Break the sausage meat into pieces about the size of a walnut and flatten them a little.

Heat a sauté pan or saucier, and two tablespoons of olive oil. Let the oil get hot, and add the nuggets of sausage meat. (If you add the sausage to oil that is already hot, it won't stick.)

After the sausage meat is lightly browned, add the garlic, and cook briefly - for about 30 seconds. You want the garlic to color a little but not brown. Add the tomatoes, stir, and cook at a gentle simmer.

After about 20 minutes, when the fat separates from the other juices and floats free, add the cream, and turn up the heat. If you don't like to use cream, you can add just a tiny amount or leave it out, but a tiny amount does improve the dish. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring frequently until the cream is incorporated and reduced. Add salt. Turn off the heat, and stir in the chopped parsley.

While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta to the al dente stage. Drain the pasta, add it to the pan the sauce is in, and toss with the sauce. Turn off the heat, and add the freshly grated cheese; toss again, and serve immediately. Let everyone add freshly ground pepper to taste at table, if desired.