Calabrian Pasta with Spicy Sausage

Ingredients

• 320 g Fileja pasta
• 100 g Nduja
• 300 g Tomato passata
• 1 Onion
• 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 leaves Basil
• 40 g Pecorino cheese
• 1 pinch Salt

Steps

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it generously; this will cook the fileja while you prepare the sauce.
2. Finely slice the onion and gently soften it in the extra-virgin olive oil over low heat for about 5 minutes, until translucent but not coloured.
3. Remove the 'nduja from its casing and add it to the pan.
4. Mash it with a wooden spoon so it dissolves into the oil and onion, releasing its bright red, spicy fat.
5. Pour in the tomato passata, season with a small pinch of salt, and let the sauce simmer gently for 12 to 15 minutes until it thickens and turns a deep brick-red.
6. Meanwhile cook the fileja in the boiling water until al dente.
7. Drain them, reserving a ladle of the starchy cooking water.
8. Tip the fileja into the pan with the 'nduja sauce, add a splash of the reserved cooking water, and toss vigorously over medium heat for a minute so every twist is coated.
9. Tear in the fresh basil, serve at once and finish each plate with a generous dusting of grated pecorino.

Tips

• Authentic fileja are hand-rolled around a thin rod (the 'dinaculu'), but good bronze-die fileja or fusilli al ferretto work well. 'Nduja varies hugely in heat — taste it first and adjust the amount. Never let it boil hard, or the fat splits and turns bitter; a gentle simmer keeps the sauce silky.