"This is one of the easiest pasta sauces I know and I often use it as a fall-back family meal."
ADVERTISEMENTStevie Parle is a British chef, serial restaurateur, writer and food entrepreneur on a mission to bring pasta that's great value, nourishing and considerate to nature. Stevie was named Young Chef of the Year back in 2010. He has since formed the Stevie Parle Restaurants with business partner Liam Nelson. Today his primary focus is his casual fresh pasta brand Pastaio, and the critically acclaimed pop-up plant shop and supper club JOY in Marylebone.
He shares with The Kitchen his sausage pasta recipe: comfort food made complex with a pinch of fennel. It might become your new fall-back family meal.
This is one of the easiest pasta sauces I know and I often use it as a fall-back family meal. It’s a simpler version of the one we serve at Pastaio. Do try to get fresh Italian sausages from a deli if you can, they’re made from coarse meat and fermented slightly so you get a nice tang. If you can’t find Italian sausages, add a little finely diced pancetta to the sausage when you fry it to get that important cured meat flavour.
Sausage pasta by Stevie Parle
Serves: 4-6
Cooking time: 30 minutes + 2 hours simmering.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 dried red chilli, crushed
- A small handful of rosemary leaves, chopped
- Olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 400 grams of Italian sausages
- 250 ml of white wine
- 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 500 grams Malloredus pasta (If you can’t find malloredus you can use conchiglie or another shape that will hold the sauce nicely, such as Orecchiette.
- A handful of grated Parmesan
- A couple of handfuls of fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon of dried oregano
Method
- Bash the fennel seeds, chilli and rosemary in a pestle and mortar until ground and nicely combined.
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a nice heavy casserole style pan to medium heat, and add the garlic. When it begins to colour and starts to become sticky, add the fennel mixture, stir for a moment.
- Now squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins and into the pan. Fry until meat colours, breaking them a little with a spoon as it cooks.
- Stir in the white wine and let it reduce.
- Add the tomatoes, then turn the heat down and cook to very low heat for a couple of hours.
- Once the sauce is ready, bring a pan of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain, and keep some of the cooking water.
- Stir the pasta through the sausage sauce, then add the Parmesan and a little cooking water if it's too thick, sprinkle with parmesan or toasted bread crumbs. Serve immediately.
Pair it with a Nero d'Avola. The Classic Sicilian red that never breaks the bank.
More about Stevie Parle
Restaurateur, writer and food entrepreneur Stevie Parle started his career in internationally renowned restaurants such as the River Café, Moro, Petersham Nurseries and New York's Spotted Pig. He also spent this time travelling extensively through Asia, Europe and the Middle East which heavily influenced his cooking style and references.
Stevie has written countless recipe features, several books and presented a food documentary series in the UK.
