“Rigatoni alla zozzona is a dirty mess, in the best possible way”, that’s how our amico Sasha Marx describes this decadent Roman pasta! You’ll start off as if you were making carbonara, but then add in some sausage, spicy peperoncini, and tomato passata along the way. The result is a gloriously glossy, rich sauce that’s absolutely perfect with chunky tubes of Rigatoni. The main ingredients are all Roman pantry staples, the things you need to make cacio e pepe, carbonara, and amatriciana. As Sasha says,
The spirit of zozzona is why not throw them all together and make something over-the-top delicious?
Why not, indeed. Grazie mille for the inspiration, we’ll be making this for friends and family again and again!
TIME: 50 minutes
SERVES: 4
Ingredients
- Egg yolks, 3 large
- Vacche Rosse cheese, 60g / 2 oz, finely grated
- Black pepper, freshly ground, to taste
- Guanciale, 115g / 4 oz, cut into 1/4-inch thick batons
- Sausage, 2 links (170g / 6oz), removed from the casing
- Small onion, 1, finely chopped
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- Peperoncini, to taste
- Tomato passata, 1 jar (540g / oz)
- Coarse sea salt, to taste
- Rigatoni Faella, 340g / 12 oz
Preparation
- In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks and Pecorino Romano together with a fork until they form a homogeneous, thick paste. Season with freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook the guanciale over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until the fat has rendered and the guanciale is golden brown and crisp, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the guanciale to a plate with a slotted spoon.
- Return the skillet of fat to the stovetop over medium heat. Add the sausage in a single layer either by pinching it off into 1-inch pieces or breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until light golden brown, about 1 minute. Add the onion, season lightly with fine sea salt, then flip the pieces of sausage onto their uncooked sides. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage has cooked through, and the onion has softened, 5-7 minutes. Lower the heat at any point if the onion or sausage threatens to scorch.
- Add the peperoncini to the skillet and allow to infuse for about 30 seconds, then add the tomato passata (removing the basil leaf) and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened slightly and the fat has emulsified into the sauce, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil and season with coarse sea salt. Cook the rigatoni until well shy of al dente, and still uncooked in the center (about 8 minutes if using Rigatoni Faella). Transfer the pasta to the sauce, along with 1/2 cup (120 ml) pasta cooking water. Add an additional 1/4 cup (60ml) pasta cooking water to the bowl with the egg yolk-Pecorino Romano mix, and stir until smooth and well combined; set aside.
- Increase the heat to high and cook, stirring and tossing rapidly, until the rigatoni is al dente and the sauce has thickened to coat them, adding more pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.
- Remove the skillet from heat and add the cooked guanciale and the egg yolk mixture, stirring and tossing rapidly until fully incorporated and the pasta is glossy, 15-30 seconds. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately, passing more grated cheese at the table.
