Recipe: Linguini with Chourico and Red Pepper Sauce

It's no secret that I am a fan of the spicy portuguese sausage known as "chourico". Why I am a fan of chourico is no mystery either, it's because chourico is a ubiquitous ingredient in the cuisine of my hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts (where the word chourico is pronounced something like: "SURE-dEESE"). Fall River has a large Azorean Portuguese community and that means we have great Portuguese food. From what I hear, Portuguese people on the island of Saint Michael now consider Fall River the tenth Azorean island. I like that.

So, like I said, chourico is a ubiquitous ingredient in our local cuisine. It is in sandwiches, pies, paired with seafood, a pizza topping, a breakfast side, it is served as an appetizer, a main, it can be used with or in a variety of things. It has even penetrated the most American of feasts: Thanksgiving, where our local variety of turkey stuffing has a good deal of chourico in it. Hell, one of my friends even eats it dipped in chocolate. I prefer to cook mine in a flaming bath of Portuguese moonshine.

That's why, I can't even consider a collection of personal Italian recipes that doesn't include one that uses chourico. This is probably the oldest of the chourico sauce recipes I have. I've been preparing something like this since around 1980. In those days the recipe was basically a marinara with ground chourico in it. I've refined it now and I also add some sweet and crunchy red pepper that works great against the spicy chourico.

If you don't have chourico where you live, I've included a link below where you can get some of the best. Don't be afraid to try a different kind of spicy sausage with this dish. Italian, Cajun or Brazilian sausage will work fine, and while I haven't tried it with Mexican or Spanish chorizo, I'm sure that would work as well.

Linguini with Chourico and Red Pepper Sauce

2 TBS olive oil
3 large links (about 1.5 lbs.) of chourico cut into 1/4" slices
1 large leek (white part only) chopped (substitute onions if you like)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 bay leaves
2 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1-2 TBS dried basil
1 healthy pinch of dried oregano
2 cups of chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large red pepper (cut into matchstick sized pieces)
Parmesan-Reggiano cheese (grated)

While you are preparing the sauce as outlined below, cook your linguini the normal way.

Place a large pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil to the pan.

When the oil begins to shimmer, add the leeks, bay leaves and chourico and sauté stirring regularly until the leeks get translucent and the chourcio begins to cook and brown a little.

Add the garlic and continue to cook stirring frequently for 1 to 2 minutes. DO NOT BURN THE GARLIC!

Raise the heat to high and deglaze the pan by adding the two cups of chicken broth to the mix. Stir well and be sure to scrape up and hard bits from the pan.

Allow the chicken stock to reduce. When it does, add the two cans of ground tomatoes, the tomato sauce, the basil and the oregano and bring the sauce to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer and cook like this for 20 to 30 minutes.

Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.

2-3 minutes before you are ready to serve the sauce, add the red pepper and stir in well. DO NOT OVERCOOK THE RED PEPPER. You want it to remain a little crunchy.

Serve the sauce over your linguini with a generous sprinkle of parmesan-reggiano cheese.

Recipe: Linguini with Chourico and Red Pepper Sauce from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Recipe: Rosemary-Fennel Sauce

I first prepared Rosemary-Fennel Sauce at a time when I was experimenting a lot with mirepoix. This sauce has since become a popular addition to my home cooking efforts because it is a versatile addition or starter for a variety of Italian dishes. I recently posted one of those dishes, you can find it here.

I prepare this sauce in a variety of ways. For instance, I'll create a thicker version for roasting with meats. To do that, I'll half the amount of crushed tomatoes. If it is being paired with something and needs a little more support, I will increase some, or all of the amounts of fennel seed, rosemary or red pepper flakes as necessary. It's not rocket science so don't be afraid to adjust this sauce to your needs.

As it is presented below it is the perfect accompaniment for cheese tortellini or any other pasta you may want to try it with. I'm not going to get all arty and poetic here and go into great detail regarding the texture and flavor contrast and balances, but they are in there. Give this sauce a shot, I think you'll really like it. Get a little daring with it and you'll soon be making your own mirepoix-based sauces. Do that enough and you'll never buy another jar or can of that prepared gloop in the market!

IMPORTANT NOTE: You'll need to boil down your own balsamic vinegar until it forms a thicker syrup, or you can drop a chunk of money on the expensive vintage stuff. If you want to make your own, just buy two bottles of the inexpensive stuff and simmer it down until you have less than one bottle left. The resulting syrup retains the balsamic flavor but is thicker, sweeter and far less "vinegary" than what you started with. Take a taste of that stuff and you'll understand why Italians put balsamic vinegar on strawberries and ice cream. DO NOT USE THE THIN, INEXPENSIVE BALSAMIC VINEGAR IN THIS RECIPE!

Rosemary-Fennel Sauce

2-3 TBS olive oil
1-1/2 cups celery (finely chopped)
1 1/2 cups carrots (finely chopped)
4 cups onion (finely chopped)
2 tsp fennel seeds (crushed)
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried rosemary (coarsely ground)
6 cloves garlic (sliced thin)
1-1/2 cups dry white wine
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 cups (16 ozs.) tomato sauce
4 TBS tom paste
Salt and pepper to taste
2 TBS balsamic vinegar


Place a large sauce pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil When the olive oil begins to shimmer, add the onions, carrots, celery, fennel, red pepper flakes and rosemary. Sauté until the the carrots and celery soften and the onions begin to brown.

Add the sliced garlic and stir in for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Allow the wine to reduce to form a thick sauce.

Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, black pepper and the balsamic vinegar. Bring the sauce to a low simmer and continue cooking. You want the sauce a little thick, not too thick, not too loose. Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serve over cooked tortellini or any other pasta.
Recipe: Rosemary-Fennel Sauce from Chop Onions, Boil Water - World Food at Home by Henry Krauzyk http://www.choponionsboilwater.com

Review: Rao's Cookbook

You are looking at the most important Italian Cookbook of the fourteen Italian cookbooks I think are important enough to keep on hand. For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Rao's is a New York City institution as far as Italian cuisine is concerned. Reservations are impossible, and a year long waiting list keeps its ten sacred tables full. Some patrons have standing reservations, they own their tables!

If you want to eat at Rao's put your reservation in EARLY. Sure, you can eat at their Las Vegas location, but quite frankly, that's not Rao's. If you want the genuine Rao's experience you can find it in one place: Rao's, 455 East 114th Street, East Harlem, New York 10029. You want to make reservations? Here's the number: (212) 722-6709, be sure to tell them Henry K sent you!

The cookbook is worth the the price for the meatball recipe alone. The marinara recipe is simple and perfect. There's also a recipe in there for a sauce with savoy cabbage that is surprising. There are lots of great recipes and I've tried many. You will as well.

What also makes this a great book is what's behind the recipes. Stories and photos from the restaurant's history and more importantly, a lot of background info on how Rao's prepares the foundations for their recipes. Broths, vinegared peppers, flavored oils, batters and more, with tips on preparing garlic and beans and other things for recipes throughout the book.

If I had one suggestion, I would say that I would have liked to see photographs of every recipe. Apart from that, if you're looking for a great Italian cookbook, or of you're looking for ONE Italian Cookbook, Rao's is my suggestion.

8 months, 2 weeks and 4 days until my reservation...