Italian(ish)
Hiya!
How was your Christmas?
I've spent the best part of the last few days lying / sleeping / eating reclined on the sofa having a private Lord of the Rings and Avengers movie marathon, losing track of the hours and days of the week snuggled in my new Slanket – which explains why this week's newsletter is coming out on a Wednesday instead of a Tuesday (sorry!)
If you're anything like me, you've only just gotten through your Christmas leftovers and are dreading the thought of doing a proper cook because the sofa is your priority at the moment. Whatever time I spend away from the sofa should be relatively quick and painless, and dinner should be satisfying enough to warrant potentially losing my spot on the sofa to someone else. Well, thankfully, the recipe below is all of those things and is sure to be on your regular meal rotation next year as well.
This recipe came about a few weeks ago because a friend at work was telling me about the cheeky fry up she had over the weekend which made me realise that it'd been months since I'd had a sausage and that oh boy, it was time to scratch that sausage itch.
But I didn't want to just have bangers and mash (as classically comforting a meal as it is). No, for some reason I was craving an Italian sausage in all of its aromatic, fennell-y, sage-y glory, but my local supermarket didn't have any, so I had to find a way to satisfy my craving without actually going to Italy (COVID) or going to another supermarket (lazy) or ordering them online (impatient).
Thus was born: my Crispy Crumbled Italian(ish) Sausage with Leeks and Greens, perfect with rigatoni or other tube-shaped pasta, or with crushed baby potatoes. The beauty of this recipe is in its versatility and its use of fairly simple ingredients, which means less time at the shops and in the kitchen, and more time on the sofa where our butts should be this time of year. Plus, everything's cooked in the same pan (apart from the pasta) which means less clean up. Win-win!
Crispy Crumbled Italian(ish) Sausage with Leeks and Greens
Serves: 3 healthy portions
Prep time: 15 mins
Hob time: 50 mins
Shopping list
British sausages, 2 packs or approx 12 to 14 sausages
Fennel seeds, whole, 1 tsp
Chilli flakes, 1 tsp
Dried oregano, 1 tsp
Dried thyme, 1 tsp
Dried sage, 1 tsp
Onion powder / granules, 1 tsp
Zaatar, 1 tsp (optional)
Anchovies, 6 slivers
Leek, 1 large
Garlic, 2 cloves
Green beans, 125g (or 1 large courgette, cooked in the same way as described below)
Lemon zest, from 1 small lemon
Flat-leaf parsley, a small bunch or approx 13g
Capers in vinegar, 4 teaspoons, drained (optional)
Olive oil
Rigatoni or Penne, 250g
Salt and black pepper
Okay cool, now:
1. Remove the sausage casings by either running a knife along the length of 12 to 14 sausages or by using a pair of scissors instead. Collect all the loose sausage meat in a large mixing bowl. If the casings are very fragile and aren't peeling off easily, then leave them on.
Add in 1 teaspoon each of: whole fennel seeds, chilli flakes, dried oregano, dried thyme, dried sage, onion powder and zaatar (not essential but I'd recommend it). Mix the herbs in with your hand until combined, being careful not to over-mix it.
2. Prep your veg by washing and slicing 1 large leek into thin half-moons, peel and crush / mince 2 cloves of garlic and set them aside together in a bowl.
Halve your 125g green beans so they're shorter and set them aside in a separate bowl. If you’re using 1 courgette instead of green beans, just cut them into fat, 2 to 2.5-inch long batons.
Finally, zest 1 lemon and set aside in a ramekin.
Get a large pot of salted water up to a boil, and in the meantime:
3. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan on high heat. Once hot, fry the sausage mix in three or four batches for approx. 4 to 6 minutes each. While each batch is frying, use the edge of a flat spatula to break up the sausage into smaller chunks – we're aiming to get mostly small pieces with some slightly larger chunks for texture.
When the first batch is fried off, push the crumbled fried sausage to the sides of the pan, creating a well in the middle for you to fry and crumble the next batch for 4 to 6 minutes before repeating with the final batch(s). You should end up with some crispy, brown bits and some tender, meaty bits.
Remove the fried sausage meat crumble with a slotted spoon, leaving the oil behind in the pan.
4. Drop the heat down to medium-high and fry your sliced leeks and crushed garlic, stirring frequently to prevent browning. Soften for about 5 minutes.
Your pot of water should be boiling now, so add in your 250g of pasta and cook till pre-al dente.
Once softened, add 6 anchovy slivers to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes to dissolve them into the leeks, before adding the halved green beans (or courgette batons) and frying for 4 minutes. Tumble your lemon zest and crumbled sausage meat back into the pan and fry everything for a few more minutes till piping hot.
Once the pasta is pre-al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving 2 cups of the pasta water. Transfer the cooked pasta to the pan and pour in 1 cup of pasta water, stirring constantly to coat. The pasta should absorb all of the water, leaving you with a decidedly un-saucy but intensely flavoursome dish. Taste to check for seasoning – you shouldn't need to add anything else, but feel free to add salt and pepper if needed.
5. Spoon into a bowl to serve, garnishing with a handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley and a sprinkling of sharp, vinegary drained capers – if you're not using capers, give a quick squeeze of your zested lemon over the pasta instead.
I mentioned this also goes wonderfully with baby potatoes; give roughly 900g to 1kg of washed baby potatoes a quick pricking with a fork and boil them in a pot of salted water till tender, before lightly crushing and pan-frying them in olive oil till golden brown.
Regardless of whether you choose to have it with pasta or baby potatoes, or whether you use capers or lemon juice to finish the dish, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and that your 2021 is filled with all the love and joy (and good food) in the world! 🤞
Happy cooking and see you for another issue of Forks & Chopstix in a couple of weeks!
x Mark
Looking for more recipes to check out, why not these?
A joyously festive Mulled Wine Poached Pear Galette
A very lovely Lancashire Hotpot
My favourite Lasagne and meaty Ragu
Singapore Chicken Curry with Rice or Noodles
Mushroom Shawarma Pitas with Turmeric Yoghurt
Vietnamese Bun Cha with Beef or Tofu
Slow-Roasted Gochujang Chicken with the works
Or follow me on Instagram for more:@forksandchopstix