Sausage and Tomato Pasta alla Carbonara

Sausage and tomato pasta alla carbonara. A rich pasta mash-up of tomato sauce combined with carbonara and Italian sausage, that’s the best way to describe rigatoni alla zozzona. Crispy guanciale and Italian sausage simmered in puréed tomatoes, tossed with rigatoni and an addition of egg yolks and Parmesan for a creamy finishing touch. It’s full of flavor, easy to make and over-the-top-delicious. 

Pasta alla zozzona is a dish that combines three famous recipes together (carbonara, amatriciana and cacio e pepe pasta + Italian sausage). A super combination to create a flavorsome and enjoyable dish everyone at the table will love. The result is undoubtedly a very rich and seasoned recipe, ideal for a lunch or dinner with guests.

Italian sausage and guanciale give a great punch, while the sauce, with the mixture of cheese, egg yolks, and tomato sauce, creates a delicate creamy texture. Serve with a lettuce salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar for a surprising and truly irresistible dish.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step video.

RECIPE NOTES

• instead of guanciale, you can use pancetta or bacon
• you can omit Italian sausage and use only guanciale
• swap Parmesan for Pecorino Romano
• instead of puréed tomatoes, use tomato passata or canned cherry tomatoes
• you can use sweet or hot Italian sausage
• don’t forget to serve with a big lettuce salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar
• save some extra pasta cooking water for your leftovers

Try These Next

• Linguine with Creamy ‘Nduja Tomato Sauce

• Smoky Bacon Tomato Sauce Pasta

• Italian Sausage and Chorizo Rigatoni

Recipe Video

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Yield: serves 4

Sausage and Tomato Pasta alla Carbonara

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Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 400 g/14 oz rigatoni
• 200 g/7 oz guanciale
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper, more for serving
• ½ tsp dried sage
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes, more for serving
• 200 g/7 oz Italian sausage, sweet or hot, no casings
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 500 ml/2 cups puréed tomatoes
• 3 egg yolks
• 90 g/3 oz grated Parmesan, more for serving

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
   Get all the prep done before you start cooking: finely chop the shallot and mince the garlic. Remove the casings from the sausage, chop into smaller pieces, (or optionally, add the sausage all at once to the skillet, then break up into pieces with a fork).
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the guanciale. Stir in salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and sage. Cook until guanciale is crispy and golden brown, about 3-5 minutes. Add Italian sausage, cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and onion, cook until soft and fragrant, 2 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. In the meantime, add rigatoni to the boiling water and cook until al dente. When ready, scoop up 1 cup cooking water, then drain the rigatoni.
4. Pour puréed tomatoes into the skillet with the sausage and guanciale. Scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until the rigatoni is ready.
5. While the sauce is simmering, in a small bowl, beat the egg yolks with grated parmesan, about 1 minute. Next add ¼ of the cooking water, set aside.
6. Add rigatoni and ½ cup cooking water to the sauce, toss until combined. Turn off the heat, and add the egg yolk mixture. Toss until creamy and glossy, add extra cooking water, if needed. Top with red pepper flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Serve with Parmesan. Enjoy!

Notes

Calories Per Serving: 783 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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