a pasta bowl filled with spicy pasta on a wooden table surface

Catherine Phipps: Spicy Pasta

[object Object] This pasta uses ’nduja, a soft, spreadable, sausage from Calabria, which adds a good savoury heat and needs very little else.

To make it vegetarian I would use a Calabrian chilli paste, harissa or chipotle in smaller quantities (2 teaspoons to start with, more at the end if necessary). The vodka is optional but does help mellow and sweeten the sauce somehow, just as it does with a plain tomato sauce.

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Buy Everyday Pressure Cooking by Catherine Phipps (Quadrille, £25) here

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Pressure Cooker recipes

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Method

Heat your pressure cooker and add the oil. When hot, add the onion and sauté for 2–3 minutes, then add 2 tablespoons of the ’nduja. Cook over a gentle heat, breaking it up constantly with the back of a wooden spoon. Add the thyme, if using, and fennel seeds, and add the pasta. Stir, then add just enough water to cover. Season with salt and pepper. Drop the cherry tomatoes on top.

Close the lid and bring up to high pressure. Adjust the heat so it is just high enough to maintain the pressure, then cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and fast release. Give the contents a good stir – the cherry tomatoes will burst and combine with the ’nduja. Add the vodka, if using, simmer for a couple of minutes, then taste. Add some or all of the remaining ’nduja if you want to ramp up the heat, then stir in the cream.

Leave to stand, off the heat, for another couple of minutes, then serve with plenty of Parmesan, some basil and chilli flakes for extra heat.