Sausage and Pepper Pasta
Here I show you how to turn the classic 'Sausage and Peppers' into the most delicious pasta recipe imaginable!
Servings: 4
Cost: £2 / $2.50
Equipment
- Large Skillet & Wooden Spoon
- Large Pot & Colander
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Fine Cheese Grater
Ingredients
- 10.5oz / 300g Short Cut Pasta (here I use Casarecce)
- 14oz / 400g Italian Sausages (see notes)
- 2x 14oz / 400g cans of Peeled Plum Tomatoes
- 3 small/medium Peppers, cored & sliced (preferably 3 different colours)
- 1 medium White Onion, sliced
- 2 heaped tbsp Tomato Paste (Tomato Puree in UK)
- 2 fat cloves of Garlic, finely diced/minced
- 1 tsp EACH: Dried Oregano, Dried Basil
- 1/4 cup / 20g freshly grated Parmesan, plus more to serve
- ~ 1/4 cup finely diced Fresh Parsley, save some to serve
- Olive Oil, as needed
- Salt & Pepper, to taste
- pinch of Chilli Flakes, to taste
Instructions
- In a large pan over medium-high heat add a drizzle of olive oil then place in your sausages. Fry until deep golden all over, turning frequently, then remove from the pan leaving the fat behind. Rest then slice just before needed. Don't worry about cooking the sausages right through, this is just about browning the outside and rendering down the fat.
- Add in peppers & onion and fry until they begin to soften and lightly brown. Lower heat slightly, then make space in the centre for the garlic and fry for 1-2mins until it just begins to pick up colour. Stir in tomato paste and fry for another couple of minutes.
- Pour in tomatoes then fill one of the cans about half the way up with water. Use this to swill out the cans and pour that in too. Add in oregano, basil, salt, pepper and chilli flakes. Give it a stir and burst some of the tomatoes with your wooden spoon. Stir in the slices of sausage then lower heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30mins, stirring occasionally & gently bursting the chunks of tomato as needed. This time is important to reduce the sauce and marry all the flavours together.
- Meanwhile, pop your pasta in heavily salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Retain a cup of the pasta water just before draining.
- Stir pasta into the sauce, then sprinkle in parmesan & parsley and give it all another good stir. If you need to thin out the sauce slightly just add a splash of starchy pasta water (discard otherwise).
- Serve up with extra parmesan & parsley!
Video
Notes
a) Italian Sausages - We're not blessed with a wide range of Italian sausages in UK supermarkets. If you're in the UK you'll find Italian/Italian inspired sausages in Asda and Waitrose. Failing that just get some nice herby sausages. If you're in the US you can use mild or spicy Italian sausage links depending on your spice preference. In all cases 14oz/400g is around 6 sausages.
b) Homemade Sausage - If you want to take this recipe to the next level you can whip up your very own Homemade Sausages! They're Italian style and so easy to make.
c) Tomatoes - I like to use canned plum tomatoes because they're ever-so-slightly sweeter than chopped tomatoes. You can use chopped though if that's what you have. In all cases if you find the tomatoes you're using slightly acidic just add a pinch of sugar.
d) Calories - based on whole recipe divided by 4 using 1/2 tbsp olive oil to fry the sausages.
Nutrition
Calories: 703kcal | Carbohydrates: 71.9g | Protein: 23.53g | Fat: 36.56g | Saturated Fat: 12.666g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.111g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16.37g | Trans Fat: 0.056g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 958mg | Potassium: 910mg | Fiber: 12.1g | Sugar: 6.92g | Vitamin A: 2440IU | Vitamin C: 89.1mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 3.1mg