Sausage Penne

One of my fave meals!

Serves 4

Glug of olive oil
350g Penne pasta
4 good quality chunky sausages
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 fennel bulb, stalks removed, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
350ml passata
150ml red wine
handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
50g parmesan, plus extra to serve
100g Ricotta (optional)

Put the sausages in a pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Remove sausages and set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove skins and crumble the meat with your fingers.
Fry the onion, fennel and garlic in the oil until soft. Add the crumbled sausage meat, wine and passata and cook for 10-15mins. Add the basil and season.
Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente, then drain. Stir the sauce into the pasta. Add the parmesan into the pasta and stir through.
Place tbsp of ricotta (if using) on each plate. Spoon the pasta over the top of the ricotta, but do not combine. Serve with the extra parmesan.