Spicy sausage & roasted pepper pasta

Sausage pasta is one of my favourites. Best when in a spicy tomato sauce. Topped with some creamy burrata for a luxurious taste. Found some amazing meat alternative sausages (see below) which were just as good as the meat in my opinion.

Ingredients: (serves 6)

⁃ 4 peppers (I used red, yellow and orange)

⁃ 12 sausages (for meat I used Sainsbury’s healthy ‘be good to yourself’ cumberland pork sausages and for veggie I used Richmond ‘meat free’ sausages

⁃ 1 large onion, chopped

⁃ 4 garlic cloves, chopped

⁃ 1 red chilli, chopped

⁃ 1 tsp chilli flakes

– Large glug of red wine (optional)

⁃ 600g passata (one large jar)

⁃ 1 tbsp ketchup

⁃ 1 tsp sugar

⁃ 1 tbsp salt

⁃ 2 tbsp dried oregano

⁃ Large bunch of fresh basil (saving some for garnish)

⁃ 1 ball of burrata to garnish (optional) or mozzarella

⁃ Pasta of your choice ( I used penne and 75g per person is a perfect quantity)

Method:

1. Place the chopped peppers with some olive oil, salt and pepper in a tray. Bake for 45 minutes on 150 degrees c or until soft.

2. In a frying pan, add some oil or garlic olive oil and heat up. Remove the sausages from their casing and break into smaller pieces with your fingers before putting in the pan.

3. Use a wooden spoon to break it up as you stir and fry for around 5 minutes until cooked and brown.

4. Remove the cooked sausage meat from the pan but keep the pan on the hob.

5. To the same pan, add a little more oil if there is none from the sausages and add the onion, garlic, chilli and chilli flakes. After 2 minutes, pour in the red wine to deglaze the pan (if using). Cook for a further 2-3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

6. Then add the passata and about half a cup of water.

7. Add the ketchup, salt, sugar, oregano and basil. Stir. Taste for seasoning.

8. Add in the roasted peppers and sausage meat back to the pan (meat & veggie shown below).

9. Meanwhile, cook the pasta of your choice in a pan of boiling salted water. I always undercook the pasta (boil for around 7-10 minutes) as the pasta will cook a bit more with the sauce to become al dente.