Who doesn’t like a little salami? Here’s a great recipe to try with your family tonight—it’s from Nigella’s Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home.
Serves 3–4
- 2 2/3 cups (11 ounces) ditalini or mezzi tubetti pasta
- 3 ounces (about 15 slices) Milano salami, scissored into strips
- 1 x 14-ounce can diced tomatoes, plus ½ can water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 bouquet garni (mixed herb sachet or bag – optional)
- 1 x 15-ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Bring some water for the pasta to a boil and salt generously – or to taste – then put in ditalini or mezzi tubetti, which will probably need around 10 minutes (though check the package), and get on with the sauce while it cooks.
Warm a fairly wide, heavy-based saucepan – you can see the one I use on the right – and toss in the salami strips, not worrying if they clump together. Stir with a wooden spoon over a medium heat for a minute or two.
Tip in the tomatoes and rinse about ½ can water around the empty can and then add that, too.
Drop in 1 tablespoon butter and stir well with your wooden spoon, then add the bouquet garni, if using, and the drained beans, stir and leave it to bubble away – firmly but gently – while the pasta finishes cooking.
Just before draining the pasta, lower in a measuring cup and take out a little of the cooking water.
Stir the drained pasta into the sauce, remove from the heat, and now stir in the remaining butter. If you think the sauce needs it, splash in some of the pasta cooking water, and stir again with your wooden spoon. Leave to stand for 2 minutes before serving, removing bouquet garni (if used) as you do so.
From NIGELLA KITCHEN by Nigella Lawson. Copyright © 2010 Nigella Lawson. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.
