Sausage pasta

25 November 2018

I invented (or, more likely, reinvented: this is presumably a classic somewhere in Italy) this dish as a way of using leftover sausages and wine at the end of a holiday. It has since become a favourite for generating maximum deliciousness for minimum effort.

• For two servings:
  400g pork sausages
  2–3 garlic cloves, chopped
  ⅓ bottle of white wine
  A bunch of parsley, chopped
  100 g parmesan
  150–200 g pasta (I like to use linguine)
  Chilli flake, olive oil
• Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
• Meanwhile, slit open the sausage skins and dump the meat into a large pan. Add a glug of good olive oil and cook over medium heat for about 5–10 minutes, breaking up the sausage meat into bite-sized pieces as it cooks.
• Once the sausage meat is somewhat golden brown, add the garlic and a good pinch of chilli flake and cook for about a minute. Pour in the wine and leave to gently simmer over a medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta until nearly done. Reserve a mug of pasta water and put the drained pasta into the pan with the sausage. Cook over a medium-high heat, tossing constantly, for a minute or so, until the sauce is emulsified.
• Toss in the parsley, and serve topped with parmesan and more olive oil if desired.