Pasta with Salami and Horseradish
Today’s pasta dish comes from a professional baker in Italy who has been honing her craft for over 60 years and features a very unique but delicious flavor combination of tomatoes, salami, and a bit of horseradish. You probably never thought to put horseradish into a pasta dish, but it turns out that when blended with the rich salami tomato sauce, it lends to a perfectly balanced dish.
Before I dive into this recipe, however, let’s talk about the unusual but key ingredient in this dish, the horseradish. For those who don’t know, this (image on the right) is fresh horseradish, I know it looks vastly different from the stuff you put onto your holiday prime rib or beef roast.
These days, most grocery stores should sell fresh horseradish in the produce aisle, typically near the herbs and mushrooms, and what it does is offer a pleasant kick of spice without any competing flavors that prepared horseradish might have.
It’s also a bit milder than the prepared stuff, but I would still proceed with caution especially if it’s something you’re not familiar with.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 garlic clove
14 ounces of canned crushed tomatoes
Salt
12 ounces of salami or capocollo, diced
1 pound of small pasta, any kind you have in your pantry will work
2 tablespoons of freshly grated horseradish, or to taste
Plenty of grated Pecorino
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Heat the oil and garlic clove in a saucepan over medium heat. Let that sizzle for about 2 minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn golden, then add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt. Bring that to a boil, then let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta for about 8-10 minutes, or until al dente, then drain.
Once the sauce has thickened slightly, stir in the salami and let that warm for about a minute, it doesn’t need to cook for very long.
Remove the garlic (Removing the garlic is how you know this is a traditional Italian dish), then stir the pasta into the sauce and season with salt to taste. Plate up the dish, scattering the top with the grated horseradish and cheese.
This dish is another prime example of what happens in traditional Italian cuisine where you take a few simple ingredients and transform them into a unique, delicious dish.
You get a bit of sweetness from the tomatoes, a bit of meatiness, and a hint of pepper from the salami, and then there’s that light kick from the heat from the fresh horseradish that seems to tie the whole dish together!
