Sumptous Sausage Pasta
In a previous incarnation of this blog, this recipe was by far the most popular getting hits from all over the world. Nothing cheers me up more than a steaming bowl of pasta, and it seems that’s just how the rest of the world feels too. It’s my ultimate comfort food when I’m feeling ill, hungover or just needing a something delicious and filling. I think it stems from my father serving me up mac n cheese when I was off school and now I just cant resist it, especially if it’s covered in piles of freshly grated parmesan.
If you’re feeling a bit fancy and you want to make your own pasta, this is a great sauce to get a start on while your pasta is resting, but its just as good with dried pasta too. I generally have a rule that I only eat fresh pasta if I made it or if i’m in a restaurant, the stuff in the supermarket is generally a disappointment and dried supermarket pasta is great and better value too.
This recipe is perfect for a cosy dinner or a big dinner party as you can make the sauce ahead. As always I like to prepare all the ingredients at the very beginning so that I can pretend I’m cooking like Nigella on TV/get started with the washing up as I go. Before you start slicing and dicing, rehydrate the dried porcini mushrooms in 200ml of hot water and leave to soak for 20 minutes because that mushroom water is SO IMPORTANT.
Firstly sweat your diced onions and grated carrot in a large (ideally heavy) pan in some butter and olive oil. After about 10 minutes add in your garlic, fennel, finely chopped rosemary and oregano and chilli if you’re using them. Let that cook for about two minutes until fragrant.
Once all of the beautiful aromas start coming out of the garlic and herbs, slice open the skin of the sausages and add meat to the pan breaking it up with a wooden spoon while it cooks. When there’s no more pink meat add a good slug of marsala wine, white wine is good if you don’t have any marsala, and let the alcohol burn off.
Then it’s time to add the mushroomy goodness. The fresh mushrooms should cook for a couple of minutes along with the rehydrated finely chopped porchini mushrooms. It’s really important that you keep the water that the mushrooms were in because it’s full of flavour and that wonderful umami taste we’re looking for. Let the mushrooms cook for a couple of minutes then add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato paste and the water from the porcini mushrooms and bring to the boil.
Add in your seasoning and a pinch of sugar, lower the heat and leave to cook on medium-low for about half an hour until the sauce has reduced slightly and thickened.
At this stage I like to add a few grates of parmesan, a drizzle of truffle oil and some torn basil leaves saving a few leaves to garnish. Test if you think it needs a bit more seasoning and try to to snaffle the whole lot.
Cook the pasta as per the instructions and then toss in the sumptuous sausage sauce. If you want to make fresh pasta, and it’s something I’d really recommend if you have the time, I like this recipe by Antonio Carluccio. It’s really fun to make fresh pasta with friends while drinking some lovely Italian red wine.
You can obviously serve direct to plates but I think it looks just beautiful in a big bowl adorned with basil leaves and served ‘family style’. Make sure there’s plenty of fresh parmesan on the table, pasta just isn’t the same without it.
INGREDIENTS
6 Good quality sausages (I love the caramelised onion ones)
1 Carrot, grated
1 White onion, diced
2 Cloves of garlic, grated or crushed
2 Sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
1/2 Tsp Fennel seeds
1/2 Tsp chilli flakes (optional)
A handful of fresh oregano (optional)
A large handful of basil leaves
1 Punnett of chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped
20g Dried porchini mushrooms (rehydrated in 200ml boiling water)
500g Passata
2 Tbs tomato paste
A slug of marsala wine, or white wine will do (roughly 150ml)
Salt & pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar
30g Freshly grated parmigiano, plus more to serve. May I recommend the Lidl Deluxe one it’s a bargain and delish?
A drizzle of truffle oil
This recipe should serve 4 with a nice portion left over for lunch the next day. You’ll have people in your office peeking in the microwave to see what wonders are within.
Pasta la vista, baby…