Seared Liver and Sausage Pasta with Sharp Tarragon Walnut Sauce

Seared Liver and Sausage Pasta with Sharp Tarragon Walnut Sauce 🍝🌿 This is a bold, old-school comfort pasta with a fresh finish: browned sausage coins, tender chicken livers, toasted walnuts, lemon and tarragon folded through glossy rigatoni. It tastes rich, but the sauce stays bright and balanced. Yield: 4 servings Time: about 35 minutes Ingredients 🛒 - 320 g rigatoni, mezzi rigatoni or penne - 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided - 300 g good pork sausages, sliced into thick coins - 250 g chicken livers, trimmed and patted very dry - 2 shallots, finely chopped - 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped - 75 g walnuts, roughly chopped - 120 ml chicken stock or vegetable stock - 90 ml single cream or half-and-half - 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus extra to finish - 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon - 2 tablespoons chopped parsley - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, optional but lovely - Fine sea salt and black pepper - Pasta water, as needed Method 👩‍🍳 1. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking often, until fragrant. Tip them onto a plate so they do not keep cooking. 2. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta until just al dente, then reserve a mug of pasta water before draining. 3. Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide frying pan. Add the sausage coins and cook for 5-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned and crisp at the edges. Lift them onto a plate. 4. Season the chicken livers lightly with salt and pepper. Add the remaining oil to the same pan and sear the livers for 60-90 seconds per side. They should brown outside but stay tender inside. Remove them to the plate with the sausage. 5. Lower the heat. Add the shallots to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft and glossy, scraping up the browned bits. Add the garlic for 30 seconds. 6. Stir in the stock, cream, Dijon if using, lemon juice and lemon zest. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until lightly thickened. 7. Add the drained pasta and toss well. Splash in pasta water little by little until the sauce looks glossy and coats the pasta. 8. Fold in the sausage, chicken livers, toasted walnuts, tarragon and parsley. Warm gently for 1 minute only, so the livers stay tender. 9. Taste and finish with more lemon juice, black pepper and a few extra herbs. Serving notes 🍽️ Serve straight away in warm bowls with a crisp green salad or simple bitter leaves. If you prefer a softer flavour, slice the livers smaller before folding them through the pasta. Storage tip 🧊 This is best fresh, but leftovers keep for 1 day in the fridge. Reheat gently with a splash of stock or water. Do not boil hard after adding the livers. Save this recipe for a proper savoury pasta night. Tasteloom.club - easy recipes for everyday cravings.