Rachel Allen's Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream

This is a great pasta dish from Rachel Allen’s Rachel’s Favourite Food. I think this is one of my favourite pasta dishes ever. They make this a lot at Ballymaloe Cookery School, and people always love it. Just leave out the sausage for a vegetarian pasta sauce. It also freezes well. I met the wonderful Rachel Allen while my Mam was on a course in 2008.

Pasta with Spicy Sausage and Cream 

Ingredients

25g Butter
700g ripe Tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or use 2x 400g tinned tomatoes)
4 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 tsp Rosemary, chopped
1 pinch fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp caster sugar
225g chorizo sausages, or kabanossi sausage, cut into ½cm slices
1 pinch dried red chilli flakes
175ml cream
2 tbsp Parsley, chopped
500g penne pasta, or use rigatoni or farfalle
50g Parmesan, grated

Method:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped tomatoes, garlic and rosemary.
2. Season with salt, pepper and sugar (the sugar really helps the tomatoes).
3. Cook until the tomatoes have just begun to soften, about 5 mins.
4. Add the sausage to the pan with the chilli flakes, cream and half the chopped parsley. 5. Allow to simmer with the lid off until the mixture has reduced by half, stirring frequently.
6. Take off the heat and taste for seasoning.
7. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, into which you have added 1 dst salt, until it is just cooked, then drain and toss with the sauce.
8. Put into a great big serving bowl and scatter with the grated parmesan cheese and the rest of the parsley. 

NOTE FOR COOKING PASTA If you need to cook your pasta slightly ahead of time, keep about 50ml of the pasta cooking water in with the pasta and a good glug of olive oil.