Sausage Pasta Broth

 Hi, this recipe is from Co-Op's 'Food' magazine, issue 74, September/October 2021 on page 59, also find online here and in bold below. 

I enjoyed this recipe, it was fun to make and wasn't fast but it I didn't feel like I was in the kitchen for ages. The flavour was good and I enjoyed it. My mum has suggested adding a sprinkle of grated cheese on top to serve, if you like. I think this would add salti-ness and a nice extra flavour to the dish, but it is not essential. In the future, I would add some other vegetables {e.g. broccoli, carrots, courgette etc...}  to the dish, not just kale and switch up the protein from time to time, some days use shredded chicken, others meatballs, others chickpeas and then you can have multiple meals from one recipe. I thought the croutons were a nice touch, and yes they do go soggy upon serving but then it's a bit like having a bready dumpling in the broth, which I really like, so I didn't mind this. If you do mind however, you could serve the croutons in the middle of the table and add as you go, so they stay crispier for longer.

Enjoy!

Hazel :)

*

*

Dietary Info:

-Unsuitable for Vegetarians

{Use a vegetarian sausage in place of the pork sausages. Or use chickpeas, I wouldn't suggest lentils as they'll go a bit soft. Chickpeas will also be soft, but more robust. Also, use vegetable stock in place of the chicken stock.}

-Unsuitable for Vegans

{See above and double check the ciabatta, the Tesco one I used is vegan, however, I do not know about the Co-Op one.}

-Contains Gluten

{You can find gluten-free ciabatta's in many shops know and can also find lots of gluten-free sausages as a few do contain gluten. In place of the pasta, for gluten-free my go to is a chickpea or other pulse pasta.}

-No Nuts

-Dairy-Free

-Main Course

*

*

Serves: 2 {I doubled this for 4}

Takes: 50mins {Including prepping the ingredients, this took me 1hr 10mins. I also cooked the onions for longer than suggested and the sausage.}

Ingredients:   

-1 Co-op Irresistible caramelised onion ciabatta roll, torn into chunks {I used a Tesco plain ciabatta roll, one of these.}

-1+1/2tbsp Co-op olive oil {I used extra virgin olive oil.}

-1/2 x 454g pack Co-op pork sausages {I used Jamie Oliver's Pork and Veg Chipolatas.}

-1 small onion, finely chopped

-1 garlic clove, finely chopped {I added an extra clove for 4, I used 3 cloves, for just 2 I would use 2.}

-1/4tsp dried thyme,

-1 large tomato, finely chopped {I used 4-5 cherry tomatoes for 4 people, but if you are only  cooking for 2 and using cherry tomatoes, keep this the same as I reckon a few more tomatoes would've been nice.}

-100ml dry white wine (we used Co-op Chilean Sauvignon Blanc)

-700ml chicken stock, made with 1/2 stock cube

-100g dried Co-op fusilli pasta

-100g Co-op sliced curly kale {Chop woody stems into smaller pieces.}

Method:

1: Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/Gas 6/400℉. To make the croutons, drizzle the bread with 1/2tbsp of the oil. Bake in the oven for 8-10 mins until golden and crunchy. {Leave to cool after this, it doesn't matter if they're cold as they absorb some heat from the steam of the broth and warm up.}

2: Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large pan {If you have one, I would use a stew pot because they are deeper than a saucepan, especially for 4 people, you add in enough liquid that it would be a bit of a squeeze, even in a large saucepan. If you are cooking only for 2, then I can't be as certain, but definitely try to use a bigger pan if you have one.} over a medium heat. Squeeze the sausage-meat out of the skins {Lightly slice lengthways down the sausage, piercing just the skin, you will dent the meat a bit, and then pull off the skins like you are taking off a coat.} (you can freeze the leftover sausages or make them into sandwiches), then cook for 3-4 mins, using a wooden spoon to break it into pieces.

3: Stir in the onion, garlic and thyme, {Season, if any fat has been released from the sausage meat, leave it in the pan too, it is good for flavour.} then cook over a low heat for 10 mins, until softened.

4: Increase the heat to medium, add the tomato and cook for 3 mins, {If it's not sticking, cover with a lid, if you have one, to make the tomatoes softer.} before pouring in the wine. Simmer for 5 mins until reduced, then stir in the stock.

5: Bring to a gentle simmer and add the pasta. Cook for 12 mins, partially covered, {If you do not have a lid for this pan, then you can use tin foil to cover the top. Then, to make it partially covered, bodge a few holes in it.} until tender, then season. Stir in the kale for the last 4 mins of cooking time.

6: Ladle the broth into bowls and serve with the croutons. Enjoy!

    

While you're here...

I have a Pinterest for all my recipes, where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html. 

https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile

This recipe:

https://pin.it/6EGTukP