Tomato Nduja Sauce

Cook the pasta. (optional - see notes below)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the dried ziti and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes less than the time on the box directs. Remove one cup of the cooking water from the pot before draining the pasta and setting it aside.

Prepare the sauce.

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat.
2. Add the minced onions, season with ¼ teaspoon salt and cook for 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
3. Add passata, and make sure to use up all of the pureed tomato in the bottle by adding ¼ cup water to the empty bottle, placing the lid on the bottle, shaking it up, then adding the tomato-water mixture to the skillet.
4. Bring the sauce to a simmer, season with the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, Italian seasoning and sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes.
5. Add the nduja, and use a spatula to stir it into the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until the nduja is fully emulsified and incorporated in the sauce, about 2 minutes.
6. Either store the sauce in the fridge or freezer, or serve it immediately with pasta.
7. If serving with pasta immediately: add the cooked ziti to the sauce, along with ¼ cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss to coat. Add 2 tablespoons of the cheese and stir to combine. Add more pasta cooking water if needed.
8. Serve with the remaining cheese on the side for sprinkling over the pasta after it’s served.