Cheesy Mustard Mortadella Ditalini
A big bowl of super cheesy greens, pork, and pasta is simply go-to comfort for me, and this version with ditalini, mortadella, and a creamy mustard sauce is one of my favorites!
The inspiration for this recipe
I had lots of mortadella leftover from my meat slicer party, so I was brainstorming ideas on how to fit it into meals. When I was thinking of ingredients I was inspired by the ditalini to cut the mortadella and greens small and similarly sized. You could just sort of shovel it all into your mouth and get all the different ingredients in each bite. Shovel-able is a great attribute for any pasta dish. I originally made this mortadella ditalini with mustard greens which is why I added all the mustard to the cheesy sauce, but I like it better with collards.
Cook the mortadella first
Chopped up mortadella frying away in a pan is a great start to any dish! Add in the onion, garlic, and collard greens and let it cook a bit.
Season the greens with some salt and chili flakes and cook the pasta while these are cooking.
Cook the ditalini
Undercook the ditalini a bit then add it to the mix. Make sure you save some of the pasta cooking liquid.
Build the cheesy mustard sauce
Take it off the heat and add in two different types of mustard and lots of cheese. Add the cheese in batches to prevent it from clumping up.
Serve the cheesy mustard mortadella ditalini
I like to put a scoop of whole grain mustard on top and a little chili flake!
The bits of fried mortadella are like flavor blasts, but the creamy mustard sauce is really what makes this dish unique. It only takes 6 ounces of fontina to make this taste like a super cheesy mac and cheese!
Twists on cheesy mustard mortadella ditalini
I mentioned I did this with mustard greens the first time and it was good but I liked the collard greens better. I also like it with kale! You could switch up the greens to your favorite, but if you use something like spinach you will need to cook it a bit less than the sturdy greens I mentioned. Another great addition would be to use a homemade red pepper flake or grain mustard.
If you love cheesy pastas, check out my habanero basil mac and cheese or this mustard and kielbasa version!
Cheesy Mustard Mortadella Ditalini
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6 ounces sliced mortadella diced
- 1/2 small onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic sliced thin
- 5 cups chopped collard greens
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound ditalini pasta
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard plus more for garnish
- 6 ounces fontina cheese grated
Instructions
- Bring a heavily salted pot of water to a boil
- In a large frying pan over medium high heat, add the oil and the mortadella. Cook 5 minutes until the mortadella starts to brown on the edges.
- Add the onions and cook another 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
- Add in the collard greens and stir to combine. Season with the salt and chili flakes and continue to cook and stir for 5 minutes.
- Drip the pasta into the boiling water as you continue to cook the collard greens down. When the pasta is ready, reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid and set it aside. Drain the pasta and add it right into the pan with the mortadella and collard greens.
- Stir half of the pasta water into the mixture, along with the milk and cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese has melted into the mixture. Bring to a simmer and remove from heat.
- Str in the mustards first, then stir in the cheese. Do the cheese in 3 batches, stirring until the cheese is fully incorporated before doing the next batch. Once all the cheeses are added and the sauce is uniform, stir in more of the pasta cooking liquid if needed to thin it out a bit.
- Serve and garnish with more chili flakes and whole grain mustard.
wow! It looks so delicious. I love it!
Meat slicer party.
LOVE
Just you agree, for me you are an eternal god