Pasta alla Zozzona (Sausage Rigatoni)

Pasta alla Zozzona is a rich and flavourful recipe from Rome that's insanely delicious. It may not be well-known outside of Italy, but this pasta with egg yolk sauce, sausage and pancetta is the perfect dish for those who love bold flavours and decadent pasta sauces.

If you're not sure whether to make carbonara, amatriciana or cacio e pepe for dinner, you have another option. Make them all at the same time!

Pasta alla zozzona is a wonderfully decadent classic Roman dish that's "dirty" enough to satisfy any taste buds. The name itself signals that you're not here for a light meal ("zozzo" means "dirty" in Italian, referring to something rich, fatty, and full of calories).

Instead, you're going where no pasta has gone before by mixing pancetta and Italian sausage in a rich tomato sauce that you top off with a mix of fresh egg yolks and Pecorino Romano.

If this is your first encounter with pasta alla zozzona and you feel like it may be a little too much, trust me, it isn't. The pasta is a true feast for the palate and a wonderful celebration of Roman cuisine, and if you haven't tried it yet, you're definitely missing out.

Since the sauce is so rich, this is a pasta dish that's best enjoyed responsibly. However, there's nothing quite a bowl of delicious pasta when you're feeling bowl, and pasta alla zozzona is the comfort food you never knew you needed.

What ingredients do you need?

To make pasta alla zozzona, you need some pancetta and Italian sausage. You can use guanciale instead of pancetta, which is in fact what they use in Rome, but if that might be difficult to find if you live outside of Italy. A fennel and garlic Italian sausage would be great for this recipe.

This pasta is traditionally made with Pecorino Romano, but if you don't have it, you can use Parmesan instead.

You'll need crushed tomatoes for the sauce, which you can obtain by crushing a can of peeled plum tomatoes by hand or by blending them. Don't substitute with a can of chopped tomatoes, as the sauce won't be smooth enough.

As with most pasta recipes, you'll find endless variations of pasta alla zozzona, and only some of them include white or red wine. I make it with red wine because I like how it elevates the flavours of sausage and pancetta, but you can skip that step if you don't want to use alcohol.

How do you make pasta alla zozzona?

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it well, and cook the rigatoni al dente according to the instructions on the package. Reserve a bit of pasta water before draining.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large pan and saute the onion over medium heat for 1-2 minutes until translucent.
• Add the pancetta and sausage and fry gently for 5-6 minutes, crumbling the sausage with your spoon.
• Add the red wine if using and cook for 1-2 minutes until the alcohol evaporates. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

• Beat the egg yolks and the pecorino together in a bowl until they form a thick paste. Add about 50 ml (¼ cup) pasta water and stir until well-combined and smooth.
• Next, transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and toss it well until coated in sauce. Add some pasta water if needed to reach your preferred consistency.
• Remove the pan from heat (this is very important, DON'T skip this step.)
• Stir in the egg yolk mixture and toss quickly for about 30 seconds until fully incorporated. Serve immediately with extra pecorino and freshly ground black pepper.

Extra recipe tips

• I can't stress enough how important it is to remove the pan from the heat before adding the egg yolk mixture. If you don't, you'll end up with scrambled eggs instead.
• This is a pasta dish that's best enjoyed immediately. Even though the leftovers will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, the flavour is not the same when reheated.
• Pasta alla zozzona is typically made with rigatoni, but you can make it with any other type of short tubular pasta, such as penne, for example.

If you liked this pasta alla zozzona recipe, you may also like some of my other pasta recipes:

Balsamic Caramelized Onion Pasta

Prosciutto Pasta with Rosemary and Honey

Easiest Ever Creamy Prawn Linguine (Linguine con Gamberi)

Pasta Alla Boscaiola (Creamy Italian Sausage Pasta)

Easy Smoked Salmon Tagliatelle Recipe

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