Mr. C – being Italian and very traditional when it comes to food – still cannot get over the fact that I combine salami with pasta. He claims that salami needs to be eaten cold. Strangely enough, his favourite pizza is with spicy salami, the more burned the better. But I like the salami pasta.

What you need for 2 people:

100 gr of thinly sliced salami (Citterio will do)
cooked pasta for two people, boiled in salty water (for us orecchiette or pipe rigate work best but it’s also good with penne or spaghetti)
1/2 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 red chili
8 cherry tomatoes in halves, sprinkled with a tiny bit of sugar
handful of pine nuts
ricotta or if you can’t find it also parmesan or pecorino work well
dash of olive oil
fresh thyme
salt & pepper

Start with the tomatoes and place them in an oven dish and grill under the broiler until done. If you are a garlic lover like us, sprinkle the tomato halves with crushed garlic before grilling. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add onion and garlic. Stir until glazed. Meanwhile cook the pasta and drain when done. Set aside. Add the mushrooms and minced chili to the onions and after a minute also the white wine. Cut the salami in quarters and add them to the mix together with the pine nuts and thyme. Season with salt and pepper according to taste and add more white wine if needed. There should be enough liquid so the pasta can soak it up. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. Sprinkle with fresh ricotta before serving.

Variations:  Leave away the mushrooms or the tomatoes or both. Add rucola or fresh spinach to the sauce just before you mix with the pasta. Of course you can also throw everything together.

Recipe source: Adapted from Vapiano
Recommended music while cooking this: Jack White – Blunderbuss