Let's face it, there are some recipes that we just keep going back to over and over again, tried and tested favourites that the whole family loves. For me, that is Jamie Oliver's Proper Blokes fusilli, a dish that I have lost count of how many times I've made.
It's rustic, full of flavour and importantly easy to cook, with the clever use of lemon, fennel and chilli making it a great all-year-round dish to create.
You will need
1 Tbsp dried chilli flakes
2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds
olive oil
600 g Italian sausages or you favourite variety. If you can use pork and fennel sausages this just adds to the flavour
1 tablespoon dried oregano
250 ml white wine
1-2 lemons- depends on how zesty you like your food
500 g fusilli or any pasta you have on hand
20 g Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
½ a bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
Method
Crush the dried chillies and fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar- put aside once crushed
Heat the olive oil in your frying pan over a high heat. While this is heating squeeze the sausage meat out of their casings into the pan. Break this up with a wooden spoon and fry until the meat starts to turn brown. It should start to resemble something like coarse mince.
Add your crushed chilli and fennel seeds to the mince and cook over a medium heat until the meat crisps up and is golden brown.
Add the oregano, pour in the white wine, allowing it to reduce by half. Add the zest and juice of the lemon and reduce the heat to low.
Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, cooking the pasta to instructions.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and reserve about a cup of the cooking water. Add the meat and sauce to the pasta
Grate the parmesan cheese on top and serve with the roughly chopped parsley leaves on top. Check the seasoning and add more salt or pepper as required.
Serve immediately, if you wish, serve with a fresh garden salad to add some greenery