Lumaconi con Salsiccia Siciliana e Crema Gialla Mediterranea
Lumaconi pasta with Sicilian sausage and a golden zucchini and yellow pepper cream
Introduction
This dish brings together two Mediterranean ideas: a well-browned Sicilian sausage and a smooth golden cream made from zucchini and yellow bell pepper.
The vegetables cook slowly in their own juices, with no water and no stock, so their flavor stays concentrated. Once blended and pressed through a fine sieve, they become a silky sauce that clings to the large lumaconi shells and slips inside them.
The sausage fat is drained and discarded, which keeps the dish lighter and lets the sweetness of the pepper and the savory depth of the sausage come through clearly.
Ingredients
Serves 1
For the Crema Gialla (zucchini and yellow pepper cream)
- 100 g zucchini (about 3.5 oz)
- 100 g yellow bell pepper (about 3.5 oz)
- 30 g onion (about 1 oz)
- 3 g garlic (1 small clove)
- 10 g extra virgin olive oil (about 2 tsp)
- 20 ml dry white wine (about 4 tsp)
- 1 sprig of thyme
- Salt, to taste
- White pepper, optional
For the lumaconi and the sausage
- 80 g dried lumaconi (about 3 oz)
- 120 g Sicilian sausage, casing removed (about 4 oz)
- 120 g Crema Gialla, finely blended and sieved (about ½ cup)
- 30 g plant-based cooking cream (about 2 tbsp)
- 40 ml dry white wine (about 3 tbsp)
- 10–15 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (about 2–3 tbsp)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method
1. Start the Crema Gialla
Finely chop the onion. Cut the zucchini and the yellow bell pepper into small cubes.
Gently soften the onion in the olive oil without letting it brown.
2. Cook the vegetables
Add the yellow pepper and cook gently for about 5 minutes.
Then add the zucchini, the garlic and the thyme. Season lightly with salt.
3. Let them cook in their own juices
Do not add water or stock. Let the vegetables cook slowly in their own juices.
Add 20 ml (about 4 tsp) of dry white wine and let it evaporate almost completely.
Continue cooking until the vegetables are very soft and the flavors are concentrated.
4. Blend and sieve
Remove the thyme and blend the vegetables until very smooth.
Press the cream through a fine sieve to remove the coarser fibers. The result is a soft, silky Crema Gialla di Zucchine e Peperone.
5. Brown the Sicilian sausage
Remove the casing and break the meat into rough pieces.
Fry the sausage in a pan until nicely golden brown and fully cooked.
6. Drain the fat
Transfer the cooked sausage to a fine metal sieve and let the released fat drain off well.
Discard this fat and do not reuse it.
Return the drained sausage to the pan, now free of fat.
7. Make the sauce
Deglaze with 40 ml (about 3 tbsp) of dry white wine and let it reduce almost completely.
Add 30 g (about 2 tbsp) of plant-based cooking cream, then 120 g (about ½ cup) of Crema Gialla.
Stir gently until you have a smooth, creamy yellow-orange sauce.
8. Cook the lumaconi
Meanwhile, cook 80 g (about 3 oz) of lumaconi according to the package instructions.
Drain the pasta and add it straight to the pan with the sauce.
9. Toss together
Mix gently so the sauce coats the lumaconi well and partly fills the shells.
Add 10–15 g (about 2–3 tbsp) of grated Parmigiano Reggiano and mix again.
10. Taste and serve
Taste only at the end. Add salt and pepper only if needed: both the Sicilian sausage and the Parmigiano Reggiano are already salty.
Serve immediately.
Presentation
Serve the lumaconi right away on a warm plate.
Scatter the pieces of Sicilian sausage naturally among the pasta and leave the golden cream nicely visible.
If you like, finish with a few thin shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Author's note — Tips for success
Sieve the Crema Gialla. Removing the coarser fibers of the zucchini and pepper makes the sauce finer and helps it cling better to the pasta.
No stock, no water. The vegetables' own juices and the reduced white wine are enough. Adding liquid would dilute the flavor.
Can't find Sicilian sausage? Use a good-quality Sicilian-style sausage, or a similar seasoned sausage available where you live. In the United States, a good Italian sausage with fennel is a close match.
Allergens
Contains gluten when traditional wheat pasta is used, and milk from the Parmigiano Reggiano.
Also check the ingredients and allergens of the Sicilian sausage and of the plant-based cooking cream you use.
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