Spinach and sausage pasta
This is a delightfully moreish spinach and sausage pasta combines garlic and spinach combine to create a herbaceous sauce, while the fennel and chilli spiked sausage adds a deeply savoury kick, and works so well with any short, tubular pasta!
I love nothing more than finding ways to use up almost old spinach sitting in the fridge, and this blended green sauce is possibly my favourite way of doing so.
The first time I made a blended green sauce it was this wild garlic and sausage number from Jamie Oliver, and honestly I haven’t looked back. Since then I’ve tweaked my version of this green sauce multiple times over the years, and landed on this version, which blends cubes of parmigiano reggiano directly into the spinach mix, which creates the silkiest, creamiest emulsion.
My husband and I love this dish so much, it’s been on permanent rotation in our house for the past several years, and I think once you make it you’ll find it will remain a permanent fixture in your home, too.
Why you’ll love this spinach and sausage sauce
- Save your old spinach – we’ve all been there, a bag of wilting spinach at the back of the fridge. Save your old spinach and use it in this sauce instead.
- Easy to substitute the greens with whatever you have – I’ve substituted spinach for kale, rocket, basil, salad greens – you name it! This sauce is incredibly versatile.
- Quick to make – making it an ideal weeknight dinner to enjoy on repeat.
- Nutritious – packed full of vitamins, folate, iron, magnesium and calcium, this spinach-based source is an excellent way to pack a few extra nutrients into your day.
Spinach and sausage pasta
Equipment
- 1 High speed blender You can also use a food processor but you might not achieve the same silky consistency of the sauce.
Ingredients
- 300 g spinach leaves
- 2-3 garlic cloves peeled but left whole
- 3 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 50 g Parmigiano Reggiano cut into small cubes
- 1/2 tbsp crushed chilli flakes
- 1 tbsp whole fennel seeds
- 6 pork and fennel sausage links
- 350g pasta of choice rigatoni, penne or lumache work really well
- 4 tbsp finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano to serve
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta – but first we'll blanch the spinach and garlic in it.
- Drop in the spinach leaves and garlic. Blanch for 2 minutes, then carefully scoop everything out and transfer to a blender, along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 30g of Parmigiano and a good pinch of salt – blitz to a smooth and luscious sauce and set aside.
- Pound the chilli flakes and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle and set aside.
- Remove the sausage meat from its casing by either squeezing the meat out from one end, or using a knife to make a vertical slit down the middle of the casing to access the meat inside.
- Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a good sized frying pan, and add the sausage meat. Try not to touch it for a few minutes, then you can use a potato masher or back of a spoon to help break the meat up into smaller pieces, then add the ground chilli and fennel.
- Cook over a medium heat for around 10-12 minutes, or until the sausage meat is dark in colour and crispy, then set aside.
- Returning to the pot of water, season with salt and bring back to a boil, then drop in the garganelli. They will take approximately 2-3 minutes to cook from fresh.
- Reserve a 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water before draining, then toss the garganelli with the spinach sauce, adding pasta water as needed to ensure the sauce coats the pasta perfectly. Season to taste with extra salt and pepper.
- Serve topped with crispy sausage and grated Parmigiano.
