About the Recipe
In the spirit of our beloved Stonybrook Meadows charcuterie fest this Saturday, we offer you a cold-weather dish that highlights salami and market veggies. It serves 4 and takes only about 25 minutes to whip together. You can substitute or play around with ingredients to suit your taste and market discoveries.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ - ¾ cup sliced fresh mushrooms
½ cup torn, thinly sliced, or small-cubed salami (cut is your preference or guided by the type/texture of salami you are using)
1½ cups tomato purée or thick sauce of your choice
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
About 10 oz dried rigatoni
1 cup grilled veggies of your choice (using grill pan or outdoor grill) such as zucchini, tomato, pepper, carrot, eggplant, fennel-whatever you have on hand
OR  ¾ cup jarred or homemade antipasto (a mix of pickled artichoke hearts, tomato, peppers and/or olives)
¼ cup torn or chopped fresh basil
Grated Parmesan cheese
Garlic bread (optional)
Preparation
Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or flameproof casserole dish. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and salami. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add tomato purée, tomato paste, stock and rosemary. Stir well to combine. Cover. Bring to a boil.
Add rigatoni. Bring to a second boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender and sauce has thickened, stirring every 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove and discard rosemary. You can also boil pasta separately and marry the two to reduce overall cooking time, though flavor will not be as pronounced and you'll have a second pot to wash!
Stir in vegetables or antipasto and heat through. Top with basil and Parmesan. Sprinkle on some black olives if you wish, and if you didn't add them to the veggie mix earlier. Serve with garlic bread.