Ingredients for 4 people:350 g Strozzapreti (emmer pasta)2 bunches of Tuscan kale (400 g) 4 Tuscan-style sausages (400 g)½ glass red wine150 g Sun-Dried Cherry Tomatoes120 g diced fresh pecorino cheese2 tbsp grated aged pecorino cheese2 tbsp breadcrumbs2 garlic cloves6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus 2 tbsp to drizzle over the dish before it goes in the oven) salt and pepper
Put a saucepan on the stove with plenty of water to cook the pasta in. Clean the kale, eliminate any outer leaves that are limp or damaged and remove the central ribs. To do this, hold each leaf firmly at the bottom of the stalk with one hand, then, once more at the bottom, grip it with the other hand and, holding tightly, move upwards along the stalk. Wash the leaves you obtain under running water, pat them dry, cut them into strips and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed frying pan, heat the garlic in 4 spoonfuls of olive oil, add the sausages (previously remove the skins and crumble them into pieces by hand) and sauté for a few minutes; then turn up the heat, pour in the wine and let it evaporate. In the meanwhile, keep an eye on the saucepan of water, as soon as it comes to the boil, add salt and drop the pasta in to cook. When the wine in the frying pan has evaporated completely, lower the heat and add the Tuscan kale; stir, add a ladle of the pasta cooking water and leave to cook until the kale “wilts” and is tender. Season with salt and pepper, remove the cloves of garlic, add the sun-dried tomatoes (previously drained of their oil and cut into fairly large pieces) and stir carefully. Strain the pasta when it’s “al dente” and tip it into the frying pan; stir thoroughly to amalgamate everything well. Turn off the heat and add the cubes of pecorino, stir them in and then transfer everything into an oven dish greased with 2 spoonfuls of oil. Level the surface and sprinkle with the grated aged pecorino and breadcrumbs mixed together. Add a drizzle of olive oil as a finishing touch and put the dish into a preheated oven, at 180 °C, for 15 minutes. Then carry on cooking for another 2 minutes under the grill, so that a tasty crust forms on top. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Emmer (Triticum dicoccum) is a cereal closely related to wheat. The first references to this cereal date back to the third century B.C. in Mesopotamia and subsequently in the Bible. Emmer flour was also part of the staple diet of the papulation in ancient Roman times. Emmer grows in poor soils, in hilly areas between 300 and 1,000 metres a.s.l., it’s hardy and doesn’t require chemical fertiliser or pesticides, as it’s resistant to cold weather, disease and weeds. Emmer pasta is rich in fibre and has an intense flavour particularly suitable for hearty winter dishes.