This paccheri pasta with nduja and ricotta cheese makes for a great comfort food. It’s from Southern Italy, and although it requires a few steps, it’s still a very easy recipe, that requires only some good-quality ingredients. This recipe has a strong local identity, and many of its ingredients are tied to southern regions of Calabria and Campania.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces paccheri pasta
- 5 ounces ‘nduja
- 8 ounces ricotta
- 2 ounces grated caciocavallo cheese
- 1 red Tropea onion
- 8 ounces tomato puree
- 1 handful coarse salt
- 1 drizzle olive oil
- black pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Separate the ‘nduja from its casing and cut it into pieces. You don’t need to make them small or precise: they will melt in the tomato sauce.
- Grate the caciocavallo cheese.
- Fill 3/4 of a pot with lukewarm water bring it to a boil.
- Toss the diced onion into a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil, and let it brown.
- Add the tomato sauce and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes.
- At this point, the water should be boiling. Add a handful of coarse salt, wait another minute, and drop in the paccheri pasta.
- Add the ‘nduja to the tomato puree and let them simmer for about 5 minutes. It will melt, creating a delicious, spicy sauce.
- In a bowl, mix the ricotta with the grated caciocavallo cheese and ground pepper.
- Add the ricotta mix to the saucepan and let it simmer over low heat for a couple of minutes, stirring continuosly.
- Now, all you have to do is to wait for the pasta to be ready. If you’re afraid to burn your sauce, set it aside from the heat for a while.
- When the pasta is al dente toss it into the saucepan and mix over medium heat for another minute or two.
- Serve your paccheri with ‘nduja & ricotta and add to each plate an extra sprinkle of grated cheese.