Cotechino
(Fresh Salami Style Sausage)

The Cotechino is similar to salami but that it has to be cooked – generally it is poached at a low heat for some hours. Its name comes from “cotica” meaning rind. The finely chopped skin slowly releases gelatine during the cooking process, giving Cotechino its incredibly silky texture.
Traditionally served alongside lentils, polenta or cannellini beans.

Whatever.

This is cheap pig bits thrifty assed cooking. Quick and easy mid-week cooking for those who don’t have enough time. This is good.

It satisfies like winning over a date with a $39 suit, brut 33 and an all you can eat salad bar from Sizzlers (and believe me, you are not on a winner with this shit). What’s that? Sizzlers defunct? Well, they were clearly appealing to the wrong demographic. That and the shit food probably had something to do with it too.

Anyway, this is the Devon/polony of the Italian sausage world… and damn it tastes good! Literally translated cotechino means really good shit*. DO NOT be afraid of the pork skin aspect. It creates awesome sticky-ness, not unlike the good looking bird at a swingers party. Keys in the hat folks… cotechino is taking your life in it’s hands.

COTECHINO AND CHERRY TOMATO SPAGHETTI

300-400g cotechino sausage

1 pack dried spaghetti (yeah. Even I don’t have enough time to make spaghetti on a school night… usually)

Some cherry tomatoes from the garden

Olive oil

Parmesan to serve

• Poach the sausage in enough water to well and truly cover it for an hour or so. A very gentle simmer is all you need. Take the sausage out of the water to cool but SAVE THE WATER. Introduce it to Jesus or something similar because we don’t want it going to hell now do we?
• When the sausage is cool enough for you to handle, chop it up into little pieces
• Right about now you are probably looking at your ingredients thinking, “what the fuck is going on here? No garlic or herbs. No booze. He’s finally effing lost it!” Be calm child. Be calm… or as my good friend Kel says, “cool ya tits!”
• Bring the sausage poaching liquid up to the boil and cook your pasta in that. The flavour is un-effing-believable. I promise you will love skin just as much as Buffalo Bill loved skin in “Silence of the lambs”…
• Once your pasta hits the water you have approximately 8 minutes to get the rest done. Time for a beer
• Now quickly sauté the sausage in some oil
• Once it starts to colour a little get the tomatoes in, and a healthy, no wait, hefty dose of salt and pepper
• Pastas ready? Good. Get that in there too. And a little of the cooking liquid
• Check seasoning, douse with olive oil and serve with parmesan and parsley if you got some

*Clearly this is not what it means because I have already given you its definition. It does taste very similar to really good shit though.