Friday: Spaghetti with Fresh Soppressata

Pin It Now! I swear I should have been born Italian.  I just LOVE pasta dishes.  Word of warning...this dish needs to be prepared a day ahead.  You need to marinate the sausages overnight.  

It only makes 6 servings, and I'm worried there won't be any leftovers... :/  This is another one of those dishes where I'll spend the extra money and get the San Marzano tomatoes.  (no, they aren't paying me to advertise for them...I just really love the taste of these compared to the other canned tomatoes...it's a HUGE difference)

Buona cucina!  (happy cooking!)

*Note:  I googled Ssppressata and found that it is supposed to be Italian cured dry salami.  So, not sure why Food & Wine called this "Fresh Soppressata"...none the less...it was AMAZING!!!

Spaghetti with Fresh Soppressata

Ingredients:

1.    4 garlic cloves
2.    1 1/3 cups dry white wine
3.    1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings 
4.    removed
5.    1 teaspoon ground fennel
6.    1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black 
7.    pepper
8.    1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
9.    1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10.    1 small onion, finely chopped
11.    1 small carrot, finely chopped
12.    1 celery rib, finely chopped
13.    One 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce 
14.    can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed, 
15.    with their liquid
16.    Salt
17.    1 pound spaghetti
18.    1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-
19.    Reggiano cheese
20.    1/4 cup chopped basil
21.    1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. In a blender, puree the garlic with 1/3 cup of the white wine. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Add the sausage, fennel, black pepper and crushed red pepper and knead lightly to combine. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.
2. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the sausage mixture and cook over high heat, breaking up lumps with a spoon, until lightly browned, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup of wine and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and their juices to the pan and season lightly with salt. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to about 5 cups, about 40 minutes.
3. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. (DON'T RINSE THE PASTA!!)   Add the pasta to the sauce and toss with the grated cheese, basil and parsley. Add the reserved cooking water and toss the pasta over moderately high heat, until nicely coated, about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

MAKE AHEAD The pasta sauce can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.