[ RECIPE ] Sausage & Kale Tomato Pasta

I started this recipe off using a chilli oil but then decided it wouldn’t be ‘wet enough’ for others to enjoy. I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t really appreciate foods that are too dry, especially when it comes to pasta salads, you need to give the pasta something to cling to!

As a result of the much-needed experimenting, I decided to create an additional tomato sauce base to compliment the dish, and this type of pasta (Conchiglie) is perfect for a sauce as the inner part of the shell stores just the right amount of sauce to make the perfect mouthful. Enjoy! (as much as I did!)

(Serves 2)

4 x Sausages
150g x Conchiglie Pasta
20g x Salt
1 x Red Onion (sliced)
2 x Fresh Thyme Sprigs
50g x Kale (chopped)
1/2 x Lemon (zested)
Olive Oil

(for the Tomato Base)
1 x Can Cherry Tomatoes
Handful of Fresh Basil Leaves
2 tsp x Dried Oregano
1 x Garlic Clove (finely chopped)
1 tsp x Red Wine Vinegar
Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

– Method

1. Boil the kettle with enough water to cover the pasta. Turn the hob onto a high heat. Place the pasta inside a large saucepan and add the boiling water. Add about 20g Salt to the saucepan. Leave for 16 minutes or until ready.

2. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (fan-assisted) and place the sausages in the oven (I usually make a few holes on both sides of each sausage to help the cooking process). Leave for 20 minutes, turn halfway through.

3. After about 10 minutes, fry the red onion with some oil and thyme for about 5 minutes until soft. Add the kale leaves and lemon zest to the pan.

4. Whilst the onion and thyme are cooking, heat a seperate pan on a medium-high heat with some oil, add the garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil, oregano and red wine vinegar and cook for 5 minutes with some seasoning. Taste after a few minutes and adjust the seasoning if required.

5. Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain it and place on a warm plate with the ingredients from the kale leaves pan. Remove the sausages from the oven and slice diagonally, then add to the plate. Finish with a generous amount of the tomato sauce.