This dish is inspired by a recipe I found in one of  Ina Garten’s cookbooks. It looked simple and delicious, real comfort food fare so I decided to adapt it for my family. The result is delicious. Juicy chunks of sausage in a deeply flavourful tomato sauce that is incredibly satisfying. I used these little shell shaped pasta for 2 reasons. 1- their sturdy, cup shape makes them ideal for ‘grabbing’ as much sauce as possible and 2- I told my kids only mermaids eat this type of pasta and they were sold! It’s a win all around!

Ingredients

  • 500g sausages of your choice (I’ve used pork bangers here)
  •  3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tins chopped tomatoes
  • ½ cup red wine ( or beef stock if you prefer)
  • 3 tbs tomato puree
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 500g conchiglie (or similar shaped) pasta
  • 400g spinach, washed & trimmed
  • ½ cup parmesan, grated plus extra to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 °c

  1. Place the sausages in a baking tray and prick them all over with a sharp knife. Place them in the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes until just cooked through. Slice into 1,5 cm rounds and set aside
  2. Heat some olive oil in a wide, heavy based saucepan and add the sausage rounds & fry for 5 minutes or so until nicely browned
  3. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or so, be careful not to burn it
  4. Add the tinned tomatoes, the wine, tomato paste and the sugar. Stir and season
  5. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer whilst you prepare the pasta
  6. 2  minutes before the pasta is cooked, add the spinach to the same pot
  7. Reserve a cup of the pastas cooking water and add as much as needed to the sauce to amalgamate it
  8. Drain the pasta/spinach and add staright to the sausage sauce
  9. Add the parmesan, toss, check for seasoning & serve hot with extra parmesan