Crusty, wonky chunks of sausage meat in a marmalade-flavoured tomato sauce might sound a tad strange but do try it. A mere spoonful of Seville orange marmalade brings a haunting depth of flavour to a simple tomato sauce, giving a rich back drop to faux meatballs and pasta. As the pasta is stirred in at the end, choose fiorelli or a shell-shaped pasta to efficiently scoop up the sauce.
Serves 2, generously
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 35 min
500g meaty pork sausages
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion
knob of butter
½ (half) glass red wine, 150ml
150ml chicken stock
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 dsp Seville orange marmalade
200g fiorelli or shell pasta
Run a sharp knife down the sausages and peel away the skin. Heat the oil in a spacious frying/sauté pan and when very hot, break off pieces of sausage into the pan; about 5 per sausage. Let them brown and form a crust before turning, adjusting the heat to avoid burning. Meanwhile, halve peel and finely chop the onion. Add the butter to the pan and when melted, trickle the onion between the sausage balls, add a pinch of salt and cook, covered, for about 8 minutes or until the onion is slippery soft. Add the red wine and let it bubble away, then add tomatoes and stock. Simmer for about 15 minutes until tomatoes and stock combine into a thick sauce. Stir in the marmalade, the peel chopped, if liked, then season to taste with salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Co-ordinate cooking the pasta to packet instructions. Drain and stir the pasta into the sausages. Serve now or reheat later.