sweet sausage & fennel ragu

What you will need for this recipe:

6 free range pork sausages

olive oil

2 heaped teaspoons of fennel seeds

1 teaspoon of dried chili flakes

1 heaped teaspoon of dried oregano

1 heaped teaspoon dried coriander

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

freshly ground sea salt & black pepper

shaved parmesan as a garnish

Enough pasta, of your choice, for four people

Sweet Free Range Sausage & Fennel Ragu by Cherry Menlove

This is a pasta sauce which will have you returning again and again to make. It is quick and simple to throw together and yet has a richness and such glorious flavour that one can only assume that hours have been spent stirring the pot.

Serves 4 and you can find a weight conversion chart here!

Squeeze the sausage meat out from the skins of the sausages and in to a large non-stick frying/risotto pan
Add a small drizzle of olive oil to help the sausages along and begin to brown them slowly over a low heat
Put the fennel seeds, chilli flakes, oregano and coriander in to a pestle and mortar and work away at them until the fennel seeds have been somewhat crushed and the flavour released
Add this mixture to the browning sausage meat in the pan, stir in and wait for the wonderful smell to fill your kitchen – keep the heat low but not so low that the sausage meat does not start to brown wonderfully as time goes on
Add the tin of chopped tomates and continue to allow to simmer for another 10/12 mins while this is occuring cook your pasta of choice
Add the drained and cooked pasta to the plate and place the cooked ragu on top of the pasta as shown in the pictures accompanying this recipe. Pop a piece of shaved parmasan on top of the ragu and serve immediately.