Have you ever been haunted by the memory of a dish that you cooked years ago, but can’t quite recall? Or searched for a recipe you once loved and then, for whatever reason, lost?
Many years ago, I made a new-to-me pasta dish. It was not particularly complicated, but slightly unusual: There was a cream sauce, pieces of sausage and a large quantity of fresh oregano leaves that lent it a Greek aspect. I remember loving it, but then, for whatever reason, it faded into the background and disappeared. Recently, I recalled the recipe when cooking with fresh oregano, and went down an internet rabbit hole trying to find it. Eventually, I discovered that it had been removed from the website where I’d first found it. But with a little help from the Wayback Machine, I was able to resurrect it.
This sudden brainwave came at an opportune moment. Not only is this creamy, tangy pasta dish perfectly comforting in the midst of February’s bleakness, and just as distinctive and delicious as I remember, but it’s also an ideal dish to pair with Beak x Boxcar’s Cubed Double Dark Mild.
It’s particularly fitting as this beer represents another resurrection. Boxcar was known for its exceptional Dark Mild, but sadly shuttered operations in 2023. Drinking this new, one-off collaboration with Beak is like being visited by an old friend, albeit in changed form. The beer is now a Double Dark Mild – clocking in at 6.3% ABV, it offers a ridiculously rich and warming bouquet of molasses, raisin and plum notes.
It’s an eternal pairing truth that dark beer and blue cheese are great together, and this combo is no exception. The richness of the pasta’s blue cheese sauce stands up well to this hearty, full-bodied beer, while the saltiness of the sausage is a good foil for its sweetness. Together, they’re as cosy as wearing a woolly jumper under a fleece blanket on the sofa next to a roaring fire. Exactly what’s needed to get us through the rest of this endless winter – and perhaps the next, now that they’ve both made their grand return.
Sausage, Oregano & Blue Cheese Pasta
Adapted from Serious Eats
Serves 4-6
350g sausages (look for Lincolnshire sausages, or another herbal sausage variety)
2 tablespoons olive oil
250ml dry white wine
Fine sea salt
500g pasta (I used casarecce, but you could also go for garganelli, rigatoni or penne)
150ml double cream
100g Gorgonzola Dolce
15g fresh oregano (stems discarded)
½ teaspoon nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper, to garnish
Parmigiano-Reggiano, to garnish
1. First, cook the sausages. Slice into roughly 1-inch pieces. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the sausage pieces. Cook for 7-10 minutes, flipping occasionally, or until evenly golden-brown and cooked through.
2. Next, pour the wine over the sausages and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Raise the heat to high and cook for several minutes, or until the wine has reduced by more than half.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and salt generously. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
4. While the pasta cooks, add the double cream, Gorgonzola Dolce and fresh oregano leaves to the pan with the sausages and turn the heat down to low. Stir until fully incorporated and the cheese has melted. Add the nutmeg and mix through.
5. As soon as the pasta is cooked, drain, reserving at least 250ml of the cooking water. Transfer the pasta to the pan with the sausages, alongside 125ml of the cooking water. Stir until the pasta is evenly coated and the sauce looks creamy; add any additional water if needed, until it reaches the desired consistency.
6. Divide the pasta between bowls or plates. Garnish each serving with a good amount of freshly ground black pepper and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Claire M Bullen is a professional food and travel writer, a beer hound and all-around lover of tasty things. You can follow her at @clairembullen. For more recipes like this, sign up to our HB&B All Killer No Filler beer subscription - you'll receive Claire's recipe and food pairings, plus expert tasting notes, with 10 world-class beers like this one every month.
