Oli
Oli
Resident eejit. Radio4, kitchen dancing, owning recipe books to read not follow
Jan 6, 2019 2 min read

Sprouty sausagey pasta

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After Christmas sprouts are still in the shops and excellent. Fine sliced they can be used in loads of places. I’d not thought of having them in pasta but the combinate with sausage is great. If you can find it then sweet and spicy Italian sausages would be ideal, if not use the combination of spices below to evolve standard sausages.

Note that this dish includes creme fraiche like the last one, ideal if you bought a big tub.

You will need

  • A couple of good sized sausages per person, out of their skins
  • Tagitella (I used the dried stuff)
  • 6 sprouts per person (finely sliced )
  • A couple of heaped tablespoons of creme fraiche
  • A heaped teaspooon of dijon mustard
  • A clove or garlic and a teaspoon of butter OR a good spoonful of garlic butter
  • Plenty of ground black pepper

For the sausages if you’re not using Italian ones

  • A good pinch of chilli flakes
  • A couple of good pinches of fennel seeds (ground)
  • A good pinch of oregano
  • A good pinch of thyme
  • A good pinch of smoked paprika
  • A good pinch of brown sugar

Do

  1. If you need to spice the sausage meat, mix it all now
  2. Stick the pasta on to boil. Once it's ready drain it and keep it warm to one side. Aim for al dente.
  3. Pop a large pan on a medium heat and add the butter and garlic, or garlic butter
  4. Add the sausage meat, stirring so it doesn't end up in a big lump
  5. Once it's nearly browned stir in all the sliced sprouts, keep them moving too
  6. Once the sausage meat has crisped edges and the sprouts are whilted, add the creme fraiche and mustard
  7. Stir like crazy, bump the heat up a bit
  8. Once it's bubbling dump in all the pasta, stir round and serve

Result

There’s not a lot of sauce to speak of, the creme fraise coats the pasta and keeps everything moving. The sprouts are fresh and the sausage meat crispy.

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