John's spicy sausage pappardelle
Get dinner on the table in just 10 minutes tonight - John Torode’s in the kitchen with his quick and easy spicy sausage pasta.
Spicy sausage pappardelle
Serves 4
Ingredients
80ml olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
100g Italian sausage, skin removed and broken into small pieces
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Freshly ground black pepper & salt
2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
400g pappardelle pasta (I prefer dried pasta - you can also use fettuccine or spaghetti)
100g sprouting broccoli, cut into long pieces on an angle
50g baby spinach
Small bunch of flat leaf parsley
1 large long red chilli, diced
Parmesan or pecorino cheese to serve
*You will need one large saucepan to cook the pasta and one large skillet to make the sauce.
Method
1. Heat a large skillet over a medium heat and add 30ml of olive oil
2. Add the sliced onions and the Italian sausage and cook until the sausage chunks have colour, you may need to turn the heat up
3. Add the fennel seeds, chilli flakes and give a good couple of grinds of pepper, add some salt and give a stir so the spices cook and become fragrant
4. Drop in the cherry tomatoes and leave to cook with a splash more olive oil
5. Heat 1 litre of water in a large saucepan and add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to the boil and drop in the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, five minutes before the pasta is ready drop in the sprouting broccoli.
6. Now the cherry tomatoes should be breaking down but not completely, so add the spinach and the parsley and the diced red chilli and mix well. Add some more olive oil if needed and check the seasoning.
7. When the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat but do not drain
8. With a pair of tongs, lift the pasta and broccoli out of the pan so it is very wet, now drop into the sauce mix, turn the heat up as high as possible and start to mix. If the sauce is dry, add a little of the pasta water.
9. Cook for 2 minutes until the pasta and sauce become one!
10. Serve in shallow bowls with an extra grind of pepper, some quality olive oil drizzled over and a good grating of cheese.