Servings

4

Ready In:

30mins

Good For:

Lunch or Dinner

Ingredients

  • 550g dry penne pasta (or use another type)

  • 3 Italian sausages (pork and fennel flavour)
  • 1 onion-very finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 350g frozen baby peas
  • 40ml olive oil
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/2tsp salt
  • 30g butter
  • 100ml wine (optional)
  • 1 tsp chicken stock powder
  • 30g pecorino- grated
  • 600ml water

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

We’ll start by braising the peas. In a medium pot, add peas, sugar, chicken stock, salt, wine, water and butter.

Bring to a simmer and then slowly cook for 25-30mins. The reduced cooking liquid should just sit above the peas once cooked. 

Step 2

Using a frying pan over a high heat, add olive oil and break the sausages into small pieces using your hands. Don’t use the skin. Toss the sausage pieces and lightly colour for 3-5mins. Remove from the heat and reserve for later. Leave the sausages in the pan. 

 

Step 3

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (10-12mins). Stir the pasta during cooking occasionally to help prevent them sticking to each other. Once cooked drain in a colander. 

Step 4

Heat up the frying pan of sausage pieces, add the pasta and stir through over a medium heat for 1min. 

Add the peas to the pasta and while cooking over a high heat, stir and cook for 2 mins.

Step 5

Add pecorino to the pan and toss through. Season to taste and add more olive oil if required.

Add twists of black pepper and serve. 

.

Step 6

The absolute key to a good pasta is finishing in the cooked pasta in the sauce for 2-3mins. The sauce then absorbs into the pasta through heat and thus improves the overall flavour of the dish. 

It’s the Italian way. 

Since visiting Italy numerous times over the years, I would never serve a nest of pasta with the sauce in the middle. 

 

 

Step 7

This dish can always be made using fresh pasta. Look out for my fresh pasta dough recipe which can be made in advance and frozen until ready to use. 

Step 8

These braised peas can be used in many dishes……as a side dish with roasts, crushed and used as mushy peas, base for fish pie, or as a pasta with prawns or mussels etc tec. 

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