Pasta with Borlotti Beans and Sausages

By Sheridan 23 June, 2019

This satisfying, filling dish is just the thing to warm and fill you up on a cold winter night. The addition of Italian-style pork, fennel and chilli sausages gives it a bit of punch. Look for short pasta such as fusilli 3 colour (available from Harris Farm Markets), cavatelli, or penne rigate.
The recipe is from my Food Year (Simon & Schuster) cookbook.

Prep Time : 25 minutes
Cook Time : 40 minutes
Yield : 6

Ingredients

olive oil - 4 tablespoons
onion - 1 medium, diced
carrot - 1 medium, diced
celery - 1 stalk, diced
garlic - 2-3 cloves, crushed
Italian fennel and chilli sausages - 4, skins removed (see below)
chopped Italian tomatoes - 1 x 400g tin
fresh oregano or parsley - 1 tablespoon, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
borlotti beans - 1 x 400g tin
small pasta (such as fusilli 3 colour, cavatelli, or penne rigate) - 400g, roughly chopped
fresh parmesan - grated
fresh Italian parsley - chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic and cook until softened. Add the sausages and fry for a few minutes, breaking up the meat with a fork. Add the tomatoes and cook over medium-low heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in herbs of choice and season to taste. Add the beans along with some of the liquid and simmer for about 10 minutes, adding water (or a little white wine) if mixture is getting dry.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, following manufacturers instructions. Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Return pasta to pot, add reserved pasta cooking water and sausage-tomato mixture and toss to combine with a pasta spoon.
Serve in warm bowls sprinkled with freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley.
Tip: remove the sausage skins by snipping the sausage at one end and squeezing the filling out between your thumb and forefinger. Make sure you break up any lumps with a fork.