Spicy Pepper and Sausage Pasta Sauce

Prep time 15 min
Cook time 30 min
Serves 6

• 500g sausage meat
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 red pepper, seed removed and finely chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, seeds remove and finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder

  Dried chilli flakes

  Great for adding instant ‘hotness’ to sauces.

  Or for adding spice to curries.

• 1 tablespoon tomato puree

  Tomato puree

  Concentrate made from paste type tomatoes that have high pectin content.

  When they’re cooked down, they’re put through a strainer to remove skins and seeds, and reduced further until almost all of the moisture has evaporated. Usually a recipe will call for a tablespoon or two, just enough to enrich a beef stew, for instance, or to deepen the flavour of a sauce made with fresh tomatoes.

• 2×400ml tin chopped tomatoes

  Canned chopped tomatoes

  Great for instant pizza sauce, pasta, curry sauces.

  • The tomatoes will keep for up to a week, but don’t store them in the opened tin because the metal will start to rust and spoil the food. Instead, tip the tomatoes into a plastic container, cover with a lid, or clingfilm and store in the fridge.
  • Alternatively, put the tomatoes in a freezer-proof container and freeze for up to 12 months.
• Handful of basil

  Herbs

  Ideal for seasoning pastas.

  To keep cut parsley or coriander, put in a hole free polythene bag with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, give the bag a good shake and keep in the salad drawer of the fridge. Herbs should keep for a week like this.

  leaves roughly chopped
• Salt

  Salt

  Consider tablesalt, sea salt or crystals.

  Sea salt’s pronounced and salty flavour means less is required to season food.

• Ground black pepper

  Black peppercorns

  Best used as a condiment.

  They can be lightly crushed and used to spice up a creamy sauce or to coat fillet steak or chicken breasts.

  • Although it might seem odd, grinding black pepper over a bowl of strawberries enhances the flavour of the fruit.
  • Pepper that is pre-ground is not fresh tasting and often has other ingredients mixed in.
  • Choose the type of mill that suits you, and if you want coarser pepper you can loosen the screw on the top of the mill or crush the seeds in a pestle and mortar
• 50g grated hard cheese

  Cheese

  Add to eggs for omelettes, grate onto soups or salads.

  • Parmesan often goes rock hard or becomes horribly sweaty. Ideally, all cheese should be stored in a cool, airy place at a temperature of 46-50F/8-10C. However, most of us put it straight into the fridge. This is fine providing the cheese is kept loosely wrapped in its own airtight container so it isn’t tainted by other foods.
  • Store it in the salad drawer, which is not quite as cold as the rest of the fridge and use a micro plane for grating.
• 600g dried pasta

  Pasta

  Available in various shapes and sizes.

  • Short tubular pasta (rigatoni, penne, macaroni) is best used in baked dishes with vegetables, cheese and meat.
  • Smooth long pasta (spaghetti, linguine) is best with sauces like Bolognese, tomato and clams as these keep the pasta slippery and separate.
  • Cup-shaped pasta (conchiglie, orichette) is designed to hold sauces with larger ingredients such as mushrooms, artichokes and tomatoes.
  • Cut pasta (tagliatelle, fettuccine, farfalle) is best eaten with rich sauce made with cream, eggs or meat.
  • Twisted pasta (fusilli, eliche, fettuccines, farfalle) the curly character of these pastas means that they will trap thin sauces such as pesto, garlic, and olive oil flavoured with chilli.
  • Tiny pasta shapes (alphabet letters, fillini, vermicelli) cook quickly and are ideal for adding to soups and casseroles.
  • Ravioli is stuffed pasta and can vary from cheese, vegetables and meat.
  • Lasagne sheets and cannelloni are good pastas used in a baked layered meat or vegetables dishes.
• chopped parsley

  Herbs

  Ideal for seasoning pastas.

  To keep cut parsley or coriander, put in a hole free polythene bag with a couple of tablespoons of cold water, give the bag a good shake and keep in the salad drawer of the fridge. Herbs should keep for a week like this.

  to serve

• Green salad and Garlic bread to accompany