Friday evening and I was exhausted. Not content with a full day’s work at the office I decided it was a smashing idea to clean the flat from top to bottom, strip beds, insert piles of washing into the appropriate machine and make the flat a haven of calmness in readiness for my husband’s return from work (calmness is merely an illusion, though. Those that know me will tell you ‘calm’ is not the most appropriate way to describe me; ‘neurotic’/‘restless’ now they are good ones but with clever lighting, pillows, blankets and incense sticks I can fool anyone!). Either way I was hell bent on getting it all out of the way so I could enjoy a weekend of lying down, yoga-ing, cooking and eating.
At around 9.15pm, husband safely home from a day’s graft, it was time to think about eating something. Personally I was ready to order take-out from anywhere willing to cook and deliver but my husband wasn’t keen on the idea and instead wanted to eat in as my food ‘is so much better than a take-out and half the price’…creep!
After some toing, froing, sulking and an agreement that I wouldn’t wash up I made my way to the kitchen. Needing something more substantial than pasta and sauce I decided to make use of the Cauldron veggie sausages bestowed upon me by Mr. Business Associate last week.
Pasta with sausage in tomato and chilli sauce
(Serves 2-3)
1 pack of Cauldron Sausages
1 tsp oil (olive/vegetable)
350g dried whole-wheat penne pasta (use white and/or alternative shape if preferred)
1 jar of Sacla Cherry Tomato and Chilli pasta sauce
120g Sunblush tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
75g bag of British watercress, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Cook the sausages (I brushed them with a tsp of oil and baked in the oven) and pasta as per the package instructions.
Once cooked slice the sausages at an angle, to produce a larger surface area for sauce to cling to, and add them to the cooked drained pasta along with the sauce and Sunblush tomatoes.
Once heated through add the watercress and stir until slightly wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Decant into warmed bowls and drizzle over a little olive oil followed by a good grinding of black pepper.
I’m usually quite iffy about using jarred pasta sauces and I’m down right purest when it comes to arrabbiata (roman pasta sauce using olive oil, garlic, dried chilli flakes, fresh tomatoes and parsley ONLY) as it’s a classic and should be treated so. However, I can happily say that I regularly make use of items that will save time and effort but still provide a satisfying supper. The tomato and chilli sauce used in this recipe is a great example of this as it provided depth of flavour and heat from the chilli that, to make at home, would take a little more effort than opening a jar. The sauce was great mixed in with the pasta and sausage and the little oily bursts of the Sunblush tomatoes rammed with herbs and garlic only made the situation better. The watercress almost acts like the herb in this recipe. Wilted watercress is a revelation, by the way. I used to use it purely as a salad leaf or whizzed up with butter, potatoes, veggie stock and cream in a soup but once you’ve tried it wilted into hot crushed new potatoes with lemon juice, olive oil and tones of salt and pepper you won’t look back!
And yes, it was better than a take-out, not to mention cheaper as the sausages were donated. And no, I didn’t wash up!
At around 9.15pm, husband safely home from a day’s graft, it was time to think about eating something. Personally I was ready to order take-out from anywhere willing to cook and deliver but my husband wasn’t keen on the idea and instead wanted to eat in as my food ‘is so much better than a take-out and half the price’…creep!
After some toing, froing, sulking and an agreement that I wouldn’t wash up I made my way to the kitchen. Needing something more substantial than pasta and sauce I decided to make use of the Cauldron veggie sausages bestowed upon me by Mr. Business Associate last week.
Pasta with sausage in tomato and chilli sauce
(Serves 2-3)
1 pack of Cauldron Sausages
1 tsp oil (olive/vegetable)
350g dried whole-wheat penne pasta (use white and/or alternative shape if preferred)
1 jar of Sacla Cherry Tomato and Chilli pasta sauce
120g Sunblush tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
75g bag of British watercress, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Cook the sausages (I brushed them with a tsp of oil and baked in the oven) and pasta as per the package instructions.
Once cooked slice the sausages at an angle, to produce a larger surface area for sauce to cling to, and add them to the cooked drained pasta along with the sauce and Sunblush tomatoes.
Once heated through add the watercress and stir until slightly wilted. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Decant into warmed bowls and drizzle over a little olive oil followed by a good grinding of black pepper.
I’m usually quite iffy about using jarred pasta sauces and I’m down right purest when it comes to arrabbiata (roman pasta sauce using olive oil, garlic, dried chilli flakes, fresh tomatoes and parsley ONLY) as it’s a classic and should be treated so. However, I can happily say that I regularly make use of items that will save time and effort but still provide a satisfying supper. The tomato and chilli sauce used in this recipe is a great example of this as it provided depth of flavour and heat from the chilli that, to make at home, would take a little more effort than opening a jar. The sauce was great mixed in with the pasta and sausage and the little oily bursts of the Sunblush tomatoes rammed with herbs and garlic only made the situation better. The watercress almost acts like the herb in this recipe. Wilted watercress is a revelation, by the way. I used to use it purely as a salad leaf or whizzed up with butter, potatoes, veggie stock and cream in a soup but once you’ve tried it wilted into hot crushed new potatoes with lemon juice, olive oil and tones of salt and pepper you won’t look back!
And yes, it was better than a take-out, not to mention cheaper as the sausages were donated. And no, I didn’t wash up!
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