Tonight’s dinner

Pasta with sausage and fennel ragout and gremolata

Serves Four Ingredients

Olive oil

3 shallots, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 8 Italian or herby sausages 1 tbsp fennel seeds

1½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 large glass red wine

2 x400g tins chopped tomatoes 1 tsp sugar

1 small bunch parsley, finely chopped

1 lemon, zested and juiced 400g pasta

(use something that will catch the sauce, such as rigatoni, penne, or this ditaloni rigati) 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp double cream Parmesan, to serve

Method

 Set a large frying pan with a lid over a lowmedium heat with a good glug of oil. Add the shallots with a pinch of salt and fry for three minutes, or until soft (make sure they don’t catch). Then add the garlic and fry for another minute. Remove the onions and garlic from the pan and set aside.

 Add a little more oil to the pan and turn up the heat. Remove the sausages from their skins and pinch pea-sized nuggets into the hot oil. Fry the sausage until well browned. Return the shallots and garlic to the pan and add the fennel seeds and chilli flakes. Fry for a minute, then add the tomato purée and stir well.

 Pour in the wine and let it bubble, scraping any bits of sausage from the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped tomatoes, sugar and a good pinch of salt and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down, pop the lid on and leave to simmer gently for 35 minutes.

 Meanwhile, make the gremolata. Mix the parsley, lemon juice and zest with a splash of olive oil.

 When the sauce is nearly done, cook the pasta in plenty of salted water, according to the packet instructions. Reserve a little of the cooking water when you drain it.

 Take the lid off the sauce and add the balsamic vinegar and cream. Stir well and simmer with the lid off for another five minutes or so. Leave longer if you think the sauce needs to reduce.

 Add the pasta and cooking water to the pan of sauce and stir well. Tumble the pasta into a large warmed dish, sprinkle over the gremolata and let everyone dig in and add their own parmesan at the table.