Rigatoni With Sausage, Cherry Tomatoes And Roasted Shallot Cream Sauce

Ingredients

4 c dried rigatoni pasta

1 qt cherry tomatoes

1/2 lb ground sausage

10 oz arugula

3 Tbsp butter

3 shallots

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

2 sprigs of rosemary (chopped)

1 handful of parsley (chopped)

1/4 c olive oil

1/4 c white wine

1 Tbsp ground black pepper
Salt

Directions (serves 4)

Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Set your oven to 400 degrees. Peel the skins off the shallots and coat each in a bit of olive oil. Wrap them in tin foil and roast for about 45 minutes.

While this is happening, par cook the ground sausage in a sauté pan over medium-high heat for about eight minutes or until the sausage begins to brown. Strain the fat and set aside for later. While the shallots roast, chop the herbs and cut your tomatoes in half so that you’re ready to assemble the pasta.

When the shallots come out of the oven, soft and golden brown, you can put them into the food processor and puree them with a bit of warm water and a touch more olive oil, if necessary.

To put everything together, start by heating a large sauté pan and add the pasta into the boiling salted water. The pasta will need eight to 10 minutes. Add the olive oil to the hot pan and begin to crisp the ground sausage. When the sausage begins to brown, deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow it to reduce for one minute before adding the cream, butter, cheese and roasted shallot puree.

Allow these ingredients to incorporate and reduce until a creamy sauce consistency is achieved. The pasta should be strained and added to the dish, along with the tomatoes and arugula. Toss in the final ingredients and allow them to simmer together in the cream sauce for another three minutes or so before finishing with the chopped herbs.