Spicy Salami Rigatoni with Olives and Capers

It's Potluck at I ♥ Cooking Club this week. This means we may choose any featured chef from the past or our current chef in residence. Normally my thoughts turn to Nigella, Jamie or Nigel but Curtis Stone has me hooked. His recipes have been amazing (with one exception) so here I am, turning to his cookbook Relaxed Cooking.



This is a cookbook I checked out of the library but I may buy it, I have been using it so much.



While I made a minor adjustment to the recipe using black olives instead Kalamata and Penne pasta instead of rigatoni, everything else is in line with the recipe. Another one which is super easy to prepare so, if you are in a hurry to get dinner on the table, this is your go-to recipe.



I saw several other participants at I ♥ Cooking Club prepared this dish weeks back - I knew then I wanted to make it too. We served this with a small wedge of fresh tuna. The tuna was lightly olive oiled and cooked on the grill pan. Made for a great accompaniment to this pasta dish.



This is definitely going on our meal rotation, It's wonderful.


Spicy Salami Rigatoni with Olives and Capers

Ingredients
20 cherry tomatoes
2 teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces rigatoni pasta
8 ounces spicy salami (preferably Sopressa Vicentina or soppressata), casing removed, salami thinly sliced into half-moon pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup extra-fine capers
1/4 cup kalamata olives (I used black olives)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

To roast the tomatoes:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Place the tomatoes on a small non-reactive baking sheet and drizzle with 2 teaspoons of oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the tomatoes in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until they begin to split. Remove from oven and set aside.
To prepare the pasta:

Add the rigatoni to a large pot of boiling salted water over high heat, and cook, stirring often to ensure the rigatoni doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot or to each other, until al dente, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large heavy sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil, and then add the salami and cook until light golden in color, about 30 seconds on each side. Transfer the salami to a plate and reserve.

Return the pan to the heat. Add the garlic and sauté in the drippings remaining from the salami until tender, about 1 minute. If the salami does not render enough oil, add just enough olive oil to sauté the garlic. Add the capers and olives to the hot pan and toss. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by about half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and parsley and toss gently. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Remove the pan from the heat.

Strain the rigatoni, and then toss the rigatoni and salami in the pan with the sauce. Season to taste with pepper.

Transfer the pasta to plates, spooning any salami and tomato mixture from the pan over the pasta, and serve.



Check out I ♥ Cooking Club and see what others served up. Also linking up to Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.