I firmly believe that a bowl of sausage pasta and the prospect of a night out at the movies in the company of the best of friends should be prescribed as a cure for all ailments. There are no hard and fast rules. Add a few peas to the sauce, use crème fraîche instead of cream, omit the chili, and pick whatever kind of sauce you like, from a speckled count of proper Italian fennel to Sainsbury’s Cumberland’s Pack. can be used.
The only thing you have to do is brown the meat nuggets properly and sprinkle generously with lemon. Finding a little sausage in a pasta tube or shell is a very good thing.
My final suggestion is to buy a garlic baguette and eat it with you. There are some things in life that are better than their more gastronomic cousins. For some reason, homemade garlic bread doesn’t turn out like his 1.60-pound twin his pack from Tesco.
timing
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
server
four
material
- 8 sausages
- olive oil for frying
- 2 finely sliced banana shallots
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon chili flakes
- 350ml white wine
- a little grated nutmeg
- 2 lemons, 1 zest and juice from both
- double cream 200ml
- 400g dried pasta
- Handful of grated Parmesan cheese and additional serving
- large handful of flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stems roughly chopped
serve
- 1 slice of supermarket garlic bread
Method
1. First, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water.
2. Peel the sausage meat and break it into nuggets.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Oil, and when the frying pan and oil are warm, add the sausage nuggets. Fry until browned and browned all over. Transfer from pan to plate with slotted spoon. Don’t stack them too much on top of each other. Otherwise, it will be waterlogged.
4. Bring the bottom of the pot to a low heat. Add a little more oil, although there should be some sausage fat in the pan. Sauté the shallots with a pinch of salt for 8 minutes or until soft and golden brown. Then add the garlic and simmer for another 2 minutes. Thanks to the sausage-like bread, instead of leaving completely translucent softened shallots and garlic, this all gets pretty dangerous. Roughness = Flavor.
5. Add the fennel seeds and chili flakes and cook for 1 minute, then return the sausage nuggets to the pan.
6. Pour in the wine and whisk. Add grated nutmeg and lemon zest and juice, if desired. After simmering for 1 minute, turn off the heat and add the heavy cream. Stir everything together and let stand until pasta is cooked.
7. Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. When you throw away the boiling water, keep a little extra.
8. Return to low heat under sauce. Add the pasta and cooking water to the sausage pan and add a handful of grated Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Check. Then add the parsley and toss more.
9. Serve in warm bowls and grate Parmesan cheese in each bowl.
Recipe for The Art of Friday Night Dinner by Eleanor Steafel, published March 30 (Bloomsbury, £26)
