This slimming recipe is an excellent example of how to streamline your cooking to make it work for you on a weeknight, especially on those days when you’re too harried to fuss over dinner, says Ann Maloney
What’s the difference between spaghetti alla Nerano and alla chitarra? What’s the correct way to layer a parmigiana? Right your pasta wrongs with our favourite dishes from the Pasta Evangelists’ archive
Classic, slow-simmered ragù Bolognese isn’t a weeknight dinner option, but its tomato-free cousin, white Bolognese, certainly can be. This rustic sauce made from ground meat, white wine, aromatics and olive oil is no less traditional and gets on the table in under 45 minutes.
This 10-minute Nduja Butter and Ricotta Spaghetti is a quick yet delicious recipe that will wow your dinner date. Finished with anchovy pangrattato, it’s packed with flavour but features only five ingredients. At Sandro, our focus is on fresh homemade food you can put together in your own kitchen without any fuss for elevated yet low-effort home cooking.
View the recipe below — and if you’re wondering what exactly is nduja, keep reading.
What is Nduja and what does it taste like?
Nduja (pronounced en-doo-ya) is a soft, spreadable pork sausage spiked with Calabrian chili. It has a spicy, salty, and slightly smokey flavour that’s similar to chorizo and salami. It adds a fiery kick to dishes with a rich, almost sweet finish because of its higher fat composition. It’s the kind of unique and exotic ingredient that elevates a meal with minimal effort.
While it’s that’s popping up in more and more at mainstream eateries and trendy restaurants, nduja has actually been an Italian delicacy since the 19th century.
What should you pair with nduja?
Nduja is best complemented with something that contrasts the spice. Think of it like a soft and spreadable version chili, or a hot pork sausage that’s been turned into a paste.
This recipe is a perfect example of how to cook nduja. Using nduja sourced from Salumi Australia, our chefs have created an nduja-flavoured butter. We cook it in a pan over low heat to create a silky coating perfect for our handmade spaghetti. We then add some creamy ricotta to help balance the nduja’s heat.
Our Anchovy Pangrattato is the perfect garnish for this pasta recipe, adding some crunchy texture and a little extra saltiness to each mouthful.
NDUJA AND RICOTTA SPAGHETTI WITH ANCHOVY PANGRATTATO
Ready in just 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
Serves 2
300GM PASTIFICIO SANDRO SPAGHETTI6 TBS OF PASTIFICIO SANDRO NDUJA BUTTER1/2 CUP PASTA WATER2 TBS PARMIGIANO REGGIANO4 TBS RICOTTA2 TBS PASTIFICIO SANDRO ANCHOVY PANGRATTATO
METHOD
Place nduja butter into a pan over a low heat.
Drop your fresh spaghetti into a pot of salted, boiling water and cook for 4 minutes.
Once your butter starts to foam, add 1/4 cup of pasta water and mix until emulsified.
Add spaghetti with remaining pasta water and continue to mix or toss off the heat until the sauce begins to coat the pasta.
Add ricotta, mix through, then plate.
Finish off the dish with grated Parmigiano Reggiano and Anchovy Pangrattato.
Tip: If your pasta sauce seems too thick, add pasta water to get a smooth consistency.