Sausage and Chestnut Pasta
The wonderful Laura Ford has shared with us her favourite Chestnut recipe to make on a cold winter's night, Sausage and Chestnut Pasta! This nutritionally balanced dish is packed with delicious flavours and super simple to make with our new microwavable chestnut pouches!
To learn more about Laura, you can follow her on Instagram: @laurafordnutrition or check our her website: https://laurafordnutrition.wordpress.com/
Let' get to the recipe!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 carrot, grated
2 pork sausages, meat squeezed out
200g pack of Y.V.Fresh Microwavable chestnuts, cooked according to packet instructions, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked off
1½ tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp Madeira wine (optional)
300ml red wine
2 x 400g tinned tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried chilli (optional)
500g calamarata shaped pasta (or rigatoni)
Parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil to garnish
Method:
Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 2 minutes. Add the carrot and fry for a further 5 minutes until softened. Once softened, add the sausage meat and fry for 5 minutes, breaking the meat up as you fry. After 5 minutes add the chestnuts and fry on high heat for a further 5-10 minutes, stirring often until the meat and chestnuts have browned.
When the meat and chestnuts have coloured, add the garlic, rosemary, thyme and fennel seeds and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in the Madeira and red wine and bring to the boil to allow the alcohol to evaporate and add the tinned tomatoes. Rinse the leftover tomato juice from the cans and add the water from the tin to the pot. Bring to the boil and add bay leaf and chilli. Turn the heat down and simmer for at least 30 minutes (1 hour if possible) until sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
When sauce is ready, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water as per packet instructions until al dente. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta water to help thicken the sauce later. Toss the al dente pasta in the sauce and add 3 tbsp of the reserved pasta water to help bind the sauce to the pasta.
Serve pasta by topping with parmesan cheese, extra virgin olive oil and a few sprigs of thyme.
Enjoy!
