sausage pasta thingamajig

Ingredients:
350g fresh spinach or egg tagliatelle
60ml freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese

For the sauce:
8 fresh Italian pork and garlic sausages
15ml olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
225ml vegetable stock
2 flat mushrooms, chopped
1 bunch of fresh thyme, tough stalks removed
1x800g can plum tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g butter

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200°C, 400°F, gas mark 6.

Place the sausages on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, carrot and celery and pour in the stock. Cook for 5 minutes. Chop the sausages and add to the pan together with the chopped mushrooms. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir in the thyme leaves and tomatoes with their juice. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook for 1 hour until the sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.

During the final 10 minutes of the sauce’s cooking time, cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water for 5-8 minutes, or according to the instructions on the packet, until al dente.

Drain and transfer to a large pasta bowl.

Stir the butter into the sauce, then pour over the pasta.

Sprinkle with the cheese and toss to mix

This is going to hinge on some really great strong tasting sausages...