Strascinati Pugliesi with Rabbit Sausage, Ramps, and White Beans
Ramps, an elusive relative of garlic and onions available for only a few weeks each year, provides the focal point of this hearty pasta dish that also features white beans and crumbled rabbit sausage. Strascinati Pugliesi, a thick, chewy type of "dragged" pasta, adds texture and heft beyond ordinary pasta dishes. This recipe also includes information on making gluten free Strascinati Pugliesi from cassava flour.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 oz Strascinati Pugliesi pasta (see post for gluten-free option)
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 4 rabbit sausages
- ¼ cup white wine (we use pinot grigio)
- 3 Tbs butter or ghee
- 6-8 ramps
- 1 15 oz can cannellini or navy beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Cook pasta in boiling water until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Wash ramps throughly and trim off roots. Separate leaves by cutting right at the point they join the stem. Slice greens across the grain into ½" to ¼" strips, and set aside. Thinly slice bulbs and stems, and set aside separately.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove sausage from casings, crumble meat, and cook until browned. Add wine and deglaze the pan. Continue cooking until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove sausage from pan and set aside.
- Wipe skillet clean and return to heat. Melt butter. Add ramp bulb and stem slices and saute until tender.
- Add beans. Cook until heated through. Return sausage to pan, along with Strascinati. Combine, and cook a minute or two longer to heat all ingredients.
- Remove pan from heat. Toss in ramp greens, allowing the heat from the other ingredients to wilt them slightly. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Strascinati Pugliesi is not a common pasta by any means. If you are not interested in our gluten-free option and are unable to locate this variety, try using orecchiette pasta instead. It is essentially a smaller type of strascinati, and a bit easier to find at your average supermarket.
- For a gluten-free option, see the information and links provided in our post for this recipe.
- We have only made this recipe using the rabbit sausage sold by Fossil Farms. We find this version contains all of the salt and seasoning this recipe needs. If you are using rabbit sausage from another source, you may or may not need additional seasoning.
- When ramps are in season, they are typically only available for sale at farmer's markets or direct from specialty growers (we buy ours from Mick Klüg Farm). Alternately, you can forage for them yourself if you know where to look.