Paccheri with cotechino sauce

Paccheri with cotechino sauce is a rich and hearty dish, perfect for cold days or festive occasions. Here is the recipe to prepare this delicious dish.

Ingredients

• 300 g of paccheri
• 250 g of pre-cooked cotechino
• 400 g of tomato pulp
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk of celery
• 1 glass of red wine
• Extra virgin olive oil (as needed)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• Grated parmesan or parmesan cheese (optional)
• Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Preparation

1. Begin by finely chopping the carrot, onion, and celery to prepare a soffritto. Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large pan and sauté the chopped vegetables until golden.

2. In the meantime, dice the pre-cooked cotechino. Once the soffritto is ready, add the cotechino to the pan and let it flavor for a few minutes.

3. Deglaze with the glass of red wine and let the alcohol evaporate on a medium-high heat.

4. Add the tomato pulp, adjust with salt and pepper, lower the heat, cover with a lid and let cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the ragù should dry out too much, you can add a bit of hot water.

5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the paccheri following the instructions on the package, draining them al dente.

6. Once ready, pour them into the pan with the cotechino sauce and toss everything together for a few minutes, so the pasta absorbs the seasoning well.

7. Serve the paccheri hot, sprinkling with grated parmesan or parmesan cheese and a dusting of chopped fresh parsley.

Curiosity

Cotechino is a typical Italian sausage, closely linked to end-of-year festivities and is often served with lentils. Using it in this way in a ragù to dress pasta is an excellent variation on the theme that combines the Italian tradition of primi piatti with that of sausage preparation.