Sausage pasta
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 4
This simple sausage pasta sauce is full of flavour, but comes together in about 30 minutes. Sausages make a quick substitute for mince that's already well seasoned. Your store cupboard does the rest!
By Izy Hossack
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 400g/14oz pork sausages, casings removed
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 50g/1¾oz tomato purée
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- pinch chilli flakes
- pinch sugar
- 200g/7oz kale or cavolo nero, stems removed and leaves cut into 3cm/1¼in strips
- 400g/14oz dried pasta (any shape)
- sea salt
- freshly grated Parmesan, to serve
Method
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for around 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until starting to brown.
Add the sausage meat and break up into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook for 3–4 minutes or until golden.
Stir in the garlic then the tomato purée and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.
Pour in the tomatoes. Use 400ml/14fl oz water to swill out the tins and add to the pan along with the oregano, chilli flakes and sugar. Simmer the sauce over a medium–low heat for 10 minutes so it can thicken slightly.
Stir the kale into the sauce and cook for a further 5–10 minutes, until the leaves have softened. Add a splash of water to the pan if the sauce is looking too thick. Taste and season with salt, if needed.
Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of the pasta water.
Add the pasta to the sauce in the frying pan and stir together, loosening with a splash of pasta water if needed to help coat the pasta.
Remove from the heat, divide between bowls, top with the grated cheese and serve.
