Pasta with Sausage, Mustard and Basil

Nigel Slater is a British food writer and the creator of this recipe that just knocked it out of the park for me. What's not to love:? Pasta, hot Italian sausage, white wine, heavy cream, stone ground mustard, red pepper flakes and fresh basil.

And while the recipe calls for casarecce, feel free to choose any short pasta that suits your fancy: penne, ziti, rigatoni or even shells. It's the sum of the parts that make this dish and the shape of your pasta will matter not.


Ingredients 
1 pound of casarecce, penne or other short pasta
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 hot Italian sausages, casings removed (1-1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons stone ground mustard
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup thinly sliced basil


Directions

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente; drain. 
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the sausage and brown over moderately high heat, breaking up the sausage while it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the cream, mustard and crushed red pepper and simmer for 2 minutes. 
3. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the pasta and basil and toss to coat. Serve at once.

Wine pairing: Merlot

Grogs and Goldie, 1956