Cafe Lula

Not pictured: The mountain of cheddar I grated on top of this.

I love love love sausages. You may have noticed. They’re good with mustard and creme fraiche, wrapped in pastry, parma ham and cheese, or as part of a mountain of meat and gnocchi. But this is my very favourite recipe using sausages.

My mum made this for me when I was just discovering that I actually liked food, but I wasn’t very adventurous yet. Parmesan was far too fancy and alien at this point, but I wanted to join in with the “cheese on pasta” thing. So, while my parents had parmesan on theirs, I covered mine in grated cheddar. Now I’ll happily drown most of the pastas I make in parmesan, but the cheddar has stuck with this one.

Spicy sausage pasta

Adapted from Low Point Pasta by Weightwatchers

Serves 2

Ingredients:

a little olive oil, for frying

2 shallots, chopped

3 slices jalapeno from a jar, chopped (or you can use fresh chilli)

3 of your favourite sausages (about 200g)

1 courgette, sliced

about 2 tbsp white wine

250g passata

a pinch of oregano

salt and black pepper, to season

a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

a few leaves of fresh basil

cheddar, to serve (or parmesan if you’re more sophisticated than I am)

In a wok or large pan, heat a little olive oil over a medium-high heat and fry the shallots for 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the jalapenos and sausages and fry for a further 4 minutes, making sure the sausages are browned all over.

Add the courgettes and fry for another couple of minutes, until the courgettes are softening. Pour in the wine and simmer for a couple of minutes. Add the passata, oregano, salt, black pepper and nutmeg and stir well. Simmer gently while the pasta cooks.

Just before the pasta is cooked, add the basil leaves and stir well. Drain the pasta, toss with the sauce, and serve covered in cheddar.