Friday night meals in our house tend to be a relaxed affair as we settle down to enjoy the weekend and a great favourite is this Pasta and Sausage Ragout. It’s a quick, easy dish to make and with such a great variety of different sausages available the flavours can be changed to suit your own taste.
I find the recipe works well with a good quality pork sausage as the addition of paprika,fennel seeds and oregano really enhance the flavours of the tomato sauce and the finished dish.
Although it is a good one pot meal, I usually serve this with a green salad and crusty whole meal bread.
Sausage and Pasta Ragout
8 Pork sausages
1 tablespoon of rapeseed or olive oil
I onion, chopped
1 red pepper & 1 green pepper, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon oregano
400g can of chopped tomatoes
250 ml chicken stock
I teaspoon brown sugar
Seasoning.
2oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
350g tortiglioni or fusilli pasta.
Grill the sausages until cooked.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan, add the onions and cook until soft.
Add the peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes, followed by the garlic, fennel seeds, paprika, oregano and continue cooking for 1 minute.
Stir in the remaining ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens and is slightly reduced.
Slice the sausages into bite size pieces, add to the sauce and continue cooking for 5 -10 minutes.
Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the instructions on the pack.
Add the pasta to the sausage ragout, mix well and transfer to a large oven proof dish.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and brown under a hot grill.