Sausage fusilli recipe recipe

Ingredients

• 4 sausages (at least 80% meat)
• Olive oil
• 1 large red onion
• 1 heaped tsp fennel seeds
• 4 jarred red peppers
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 320 g dried fusilli
• 3 tbsp thick balsamic vinegar, plus extra to serve
• 350 g passata

• 1 soft round lettuce
• 100 g baby spinach or rocket
• 1 punnet of cress
• 2 tsp English mustard
• 3 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt
• 1 lemon
• 1 bunch of fresh chives

1. Score the sausages lengthways about three-quarters of the way through, open them out like a book, then rub with 1 teaspoon of oil and place on the griddle pan, cut side down, turning regularly, until crispy and cooked through. Peel and halve the red onion, then pulse in the processor with the fennel seeds, peppers, half of the rosemary leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put into the large frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher and stir frequently.
2. Put the pasta into the lidded pan, cover with boiling salted water and cook according to packet instructions. Add the balsamic and passata to the veg pan. Trim the lettuce and cut into wedges, then arrange with the spinach or rocket around a nice board or platter and snip over the cress. Toss the remaining rosemary leaves with the sausages until crispy, then remove from the heat.
3. Make a dressing by mixing the mustard, yoghurt and lemon juice with a pinch of salt and pepper. Finely chop the chives, stir half through the dressing, then drizzle over the salad. Drain the pasta, reserving a cupful of the starchy cooking water, then toss well with the sauce, loosening with a splash of cooking water, if needed. Season to taste and tip on to a platter, scatter over the remaining chives, chop and scatter over the sausages and finish with a drizzle of balsamic from a height.