The spiralizer fad is long over, but it still makes good food. I liked this a lot.
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 2 ½ ounces guanciale diced (pancetta is an acceptable substitute but American bacon is not)
- 3 ounces Italian sausage (I prefer sweet but hot works great too)
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 gloves garlic sliced thinly
- ½ tablespoon tomato paste (I prefer Mutti)
- ½ white wine
- 1 cup passata (I prefer Mutti)
- big pinch basil
- big pinch Thai basil
- ½ ounce Pecorino Romano grated finely (use the imported stuff not the American ripoff)
- 1 egg yolk
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 425°. Peel the sweet potato, trim off the pointed ends, and cut the potato in half. Spiralize using the 2 mm straight blade. You should end up with a bunch of "noodles" roughly the size and shape of pappardelle. Put the noodles on a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake for 10 minutes.
Mix Pecorino, egg yolk, pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a teaspoon of olive oil. Add guanciale and sauté until the fat renders and the meat begins to brown, which should take around 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving fat in the skillet. If using bulk sausage, add to pan and break up. If using cased sausage, remove casings, add to pan and break up. Cook until sausage begins to brown, which should take 6-8 minutes depending on how much you broke it up, stirring occasionally as you go. Remove to paper towel-lined plate to drain.
The fat and drippings are key ingredients so leave them in the pan. If you must, however, you drain off all but about a tablespoon.
Add shallot and garlic Sauté until they take on a slight coloration, which should take about 2-3 minutes.
Add tomato paste. Sauté 45 seconds. Add white wine, bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute. Add passata (use the passata remaining in the jar within a week or freeze). Add basil. Return guanciale and sausage to pan. Add cheese mixture to pan. Stir well. Cook 1 minute. (If sauce gets too thick, add a few tablespoons of water.) Add sweet potato, mix thoroughly, and serve in big pasta bowls. Top with extra Pecorino.
We drank a 2018 Villa Antinori. The robust fruit made a nice contrast to the tomatoes in the sauce, while the bright acidity offset the richness of the sauce.
