I developed this for a friend’s birthday hosted at my home. It works well with large groups of all ages.

I brought it in as a potential menu item during the initial recipe-testing phase of Tabella. It didn’t have a name, but – as a joke— I listed the temporary, tongue-in-cheek title as “Pasta Roberto,” assuming that we would find a better name before we opened.

As we were getting the restaurant ready to open in the weeks before the launch, I cooked it often for the manager and staff lunches. They called it Pasta Roberto, too. We never came up with an official name and it still on the menu as Pasta Roberto.

1 lb.            Dry fusilli pasta
1 gallon      Water
¼ cup                  Kosher salt
2 TB           Extra virgin olive oil
½ lb.           Italian sausage links, roasted or grilled, quartered, and sliced
¼ cup                  Shallot, minced
½ lb.           Porcini mushrooms, sliced (other mushrooms can be substituted)
½ cup                  Red bell peppers, cut into matchsticks
2 TB           Dry white wine
¾ cup                  Parmigianino Reggiano, grated
¾ cup                  Marinara sauce
¾ cup                  Alfredo sauce

Cook fusilli according to the directions on the package.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the sausage, mushrooms and red bell peppers and cook, stirring frequently, about 6-8 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and allow the wine to cook out completely, about 2-3 minutes.

Fold in the marinara and Alfredo and stir until hot. Add the hot fusilli pasta and the cheese and combine thoroughly.

Divide among six serving bowls.