Pasta con 'Nduja

By John, 15 October, 2025
Region
Italy
Description

"Pasta con Nduja"Here's a spicy treat from hot, sunny Calabria! It's a very simple recipe, but it requires one hard-to-find ingredient: 'Nduja. 'Nduja is a spicy Calabrian paste of fatty pork and fiery Calabrian chilis. The spiciness of the meat is balanced by the sweetness of the onion, which is why you want a sweeter variety like Vidalia. 

And that's all there is to it: Sweet onion and spicy 'Nduja, held together in a smooth tomato sauce, and served over a good toothsome pasta!

Yield
6 Servings
Preparation time
5 minutes
Cooking time
25 minutes
Total time
30 minutes
Ingredients
1 Large Vidalia Onions (sliced thinly)
3 T Olive oil
700 g Tomato Passata
5 oz 'Nduja
1 lb Dried Pasta
Instructions
  1. Put the pasta water on to boil.
  2. Slice the onion thinly.
  3. Put the olive oil in a pot large enough to hold both the sauce and the cooked pasta.
  4. Cook the onion in the hot oil until it is soft, about 15 minutes
  5. Add the tomato passata, stir it well, and cook a few minutes to thicken up a little.
  6. Chop the 'Nduja and stir it into the sauce. Keep stirring as it melts into the sauce.
  7. Cook the pasta until al dente. Let the sauce simmer, season with salt and basil if you like, and stir occasionally.
  8. Drain the pasta and stir it well into the sauce.
  9. Serve hot with fresh basil leaf and fresh-grated pecorino cheese. 
Notes

The traditional recipe calls for the sweet Red Onions of Tropea, but Vidalia onions are a good substitute.

This is best with a good chewy pasta like that from Gragnano, a small town between Pompeii and Sorrento. Pasta di Gragnano is available in some good supermarkets and shops that specialize in Italian foods, or you can do like I do and order it 10 kg at a time from the super-traditional Pasta Somma in Gragnano.

Source

Traditional