‘Nduja Pasta Bake – A Recipe For When You Need A Quick Bite

‘Nduja is spicy sausage spread from Calabria in Italy.

You don’t need to cook it, it’s spreadable and it is delicious on warm toasted bread. ‘Nduja contains chilis so it’s quite hot and not to everybody’s taste but I love it. 

You can find ‘nduja in a simple sausage form (width of a salami now, not a breakfast sausage) or you can find it in a jar (I’ve seen that in M&S but I’ve never tried it so can’t really vouch for it). I’m lucky enough that my local deli/ greengrocer (Get Fresh in Ballyboden) ordered it for me. Basically, chat to your local independent shop or your butcher, and if you’re really not finding, give me a shout and I’ll try and help you. 

Ingredients

• Pasta for two (use the best pasta you can, we used a good rigatoni)
• One tin of tomatoes 
• One large onion
• I used 2 thick slices of the ‘nduja but it does depend on your taste. The more you use, the hotter the dish. 
• Two oxo cubes
• Half a bag of bread crumbs (they were straight from the freezer when I used them and there was not a bother on them)
• Handful of wild garlic (or whatever garlic cloves you fancy)
• 125 g of grated emmental (half a pack) but you can use cheddar
• One slice of parmesan or whatever hard italian cheese (or coolea if you’re minted)

Method 

• Cook your pasta according to the instructions. 
• Rinse with cold water, drain and reserve when they’re done.
• In a pot, add a bit of oil and cook your sliced onion gently until it’s nice and soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, the oxo cubes and the ‘nduja (don’t be afraid when you realise the ‘nduja melts to nothing, you will still taste it). Let this simmer for 15 min while the oven is preheating.
• When the oven is at 180 C, toss the pasta in the sauce and pour it in an oven dish. 
• In a small bowl, mix the bread crumbs with all the grated cheese and the shredded wild garlic. 
• Cover the pasta with the bread mixture and place the pasta in the oven for 15 to 20 min or until the top is melted and crispy and the colour you want. 

Bonus pasta recipe.