River Cafe Italian sausage pasta sauce

This recipe is originally from the wonderful River Cafe cookbook. Think of it as a Bolognese with ideas above its station - it's just as handy to have in the freezer for the family but something you could serve unexpected guests and hold your head high. We fry olive oil, onions, garlic and chilli and brown the sausage mix of pork and fennel.  We then flavour it with rosemary and bay leaf, add red wine and tomatoes and let it bubble away for several hours to reduce and intensify the sauce.  The sauce is finished with a splash of cream - not enough to make it creamy but it pulls all the flavours together in a satisfying way.

Pork and fennel sausage mix (pork, salt, fennel, garlic, black pepper), crushed tomatoes (tomato puree, citric acid), onion, red wine (sulphites, clarifying agent (milk 0.01%)), cream, garlic, salt, rosemary, bay leaves, nutmeg, chilli flakes, olive oil

Serve with penne or another chunky pasta shape - with grated Parmesan, ground black pepper and fresh basil and a green salad.

Polenta would also make a good, gluten-free choice. 

LOW CARB/THINNER DINNER: serve with some zucchini "spaghetti" - toss them in a frying pan with a pinch of salt and olive oil till just beginning to soften before mixing through the sauce.