Pork and Fennel Sausages with Tomato Pasta

No need to call everyone to dinner – the aromas from this dinner will have them gathered at the table eager and ready.  It is so handy to have a standby recipe with generous comforting, hearty flavours and easy to cook with staple ingredients.  I love the flavours of fennel, celery and aniseed so I find any excuse to cook with them as often as possible.  The Passata softens the fennel flavour and chilli adds a mild heat. 

Winter or Summer this is a winner!

Pork and Fennel Sausages with Tomato Pasta by Feed Your Inner Cook

I like to cook this recipe with fresh sausages but also keep some on standby in the freezer as they defrost easily along with my frozen tubs of cooked roasted sweet potato. A few herbs from the garden add a burst of freshness and most of the other ingredients are fridge and pantry staples.  I like to start the sausages cooking, prepare the chopped veggies and keep an eye on the sausages.  Then it is just a matter of cooking the pasta, stirring the sauce and adding bits and pieces along the way.  Wilbur assures me it is even better the next day for a delicious workday lunch. Hope you enjoy it just as much!

Serves                5 generous servings

Preparation      15 minutes to get started plus I continue to chop etc during cooking time

Cooking             30 minutes approx

Ingredients

6 Fresh good quality pork and fennel sausages (one each and one for leftovers maybe!)

Pasta – enough for 5 people – cook in large pot of boiling salted water. I like to use Penne

Splash of Australian extra virgin olive oil

2 onions – sliced

3 stalks celery – sliced and some of the soft celery leaves – chopped to add at end

2 cloves garlic – crushed

2 rashers bacon – finely chopped

½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons dried fennel

2 tablespoons Tomato paste

700 ml bottled Passata

200 ml water – to rinse the bottle and add into the pan

1 cup of cooked roasted sweet potato diced   (optional – I often cook and freeze pumpkin and sweet potato to add to these sorts of meals)

Good handful green beans – trimmed and sliced about 2 cm pieces

6 or so fresh sage leaves - torn

3 big handfuls of green leaves mix – baby spinach, baby green kale, baby purple kale – finely chopped

1 – 2 cups of reserved pasta cooking water (save just before draining pasta) to add into sauce

Salt and pepper to taste (I usually don’t need to add but your preference)

For serving

A few fresh cherry tomatoes - halved

Dozen or so Basil leaves – torn

1 fresh fennel frond – use the fine green leaves removing the tough stem

Freshly grated parmesan

Method

Once the sausages are cooked (see below) – start cooking the pasta

Use a kettle to boil water and then add water to large pot. Add a small pinch of salt and your pasta. Stir well to separate.  Return to boil and cook to packet time.  A wooden spoon placed across the pan prevents boil over.  Just prior to draining the pasta, reserve 2 cups of the hot pasta water to add to the final sauce.  You might not need all the water – but good to have extra if needed.

Sausages and Sauce

Heat a small splash of Olive oil to a wide deep frypan.

Add the sausages and turn regularly to brown on all sides.

Also add the sliced onions and bacon – stir on one side of pan away from sausages.

When onions soften, add the celery, garlic, fennel seeds, dried fennel and chilli flakes. Stir through the onions. Continue browning the sausages. 

Now is the time to start cooking the pasta in a separate pan

Make a space in the onions and add the tomato paste.  Allow to cook out – you will smell the tomato in a minute or two whilst simmering.

Add the Passata and the bottle rinse water to the pan and combine through all the onion mixture and the sausages. Allow the sausage onion sauce to continue simmering.

Add the already cooked sweet potato cubes and stir into the simmering sauce.

Stir in the sliced green beans and chopped sage leaves.

Toss in the green leaves and allow to wilt. Continue simmering until pasta is cooked.

When the pasta is ready, reserve 2 cups of the hot pasta water then drain the pasta.

Pour about 1 cup of the pasta water into the sauce and stir well.  If the sauce is stir too thick add a little more of the pasta water until sauce is right consistency.

Toss through the reserved chopped soft green celery leaves.

Taste and if necessary add salt or pepper – probably not needed as parmesan still to be added.

Stir the drained pasta into the sausage sauce.

Just prior to serving

Stir in the halved cherry tomatoes and torn basil leaves.

Grate a little parmesan cheese over the servings and sprinkle a little of the fresh fennel.

Enjoy!   Colleen