Sausage and mushroom pasta

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves only, chopped
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes (can be omitted if the kids don’t like chilli)
800g pork and fennel sausages, casings removed (available at delis or quality butchers)
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 x 800g tin crushed tomatoes
400g Swiss Brown mushrooms, thickly sliced
½ cup parsley, chopped
500g spiral pasta
parmesan cheese, grated

Method

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until the onion is starting to soften. Add the garlic, rosemary and chilli and stir until fragrant.

Add the sausage and stir until cooked through, breaking any clumps as you go. Add the red wine and lower heat to simmer, until reduced. Add the tinned tomatoes and mushrooms, bring to the boil and reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the parsley and stir through.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add a teaspoon of salt and cook pasta according to directions on the packet.

Divide the pasta between the serving bowls, top with pasta sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Notes:

Pork and fennel sausages are packed full of flavour and a great secret weapon when you need to get dinner on the table fast. You can also use them as mini meatballs for parties.
I used organic spelt pasta for this recipe, but there are many pasta varieties that will go well with this dish.
This recipe was created by Charlie Louie for Kidspot, New Zealand’s best recipe finder. .