CARDRONA MERNIO SAUSAGE PASTA

Using sausages in pasta makes life a lot easier and it saves considerable time as you don’t have to worry about seasoning the meat, getting the right consistency etc as it is all done for you. It is also easy to do variations on this dish as there is a vast array of tasty sausages on the market, tomatoes and greens can all be altered to suit your mood and season

Serves 4

4 cardrona merino lamb, 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 clove garlic 2-3 tomatoes, roughly cut Olive oil for cooking Handful fresh spinach, rocket or calvalo nero (optional) Salt and freshly ground pepper Freshly grated parmesan cheese 500g fresh or dried pasta, penne, orechiette etc

Method

Start by 2/3 filling a large pot with heavily salted water and bring to a rolling boil.

Meanwhile heat a large fry pan up with a dash of oil, remove the meat from the sausages by simply squeezing the meat out so they form little meatballs. Add them to the fry pan and cook for a couple of minutes or until golden, add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, add the garlic, and tomatoes and toss through with the sausage. Allow to fry for another minute so the tomato starts to colour and caramelises a little, add ¼ cup water to loosen up the tomatoes and to get all the tasty bits off the bottom, reduce until thick and glossy.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and give a brief stir to ensure it doesn’t stick. If using fresh pasta it will only take about 3-5 minutes (always check the packet for times), if using dried it will take considerably longer.

When your pasta is cooked drain away 90% of the cooking liquid and reserve the remaining. Add your spinach or greens to the sausage mixture and toss well to combine, add the pasta and a little of the cooking water this will loosen the sauce so that it clings comfortably to the pasta – add more liquid if needed. Season well with salt and fresh ground pepper and generously grate over plenty of parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.