cooking
Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
This is an easy and delicious pasta sauce. It's flavor depends primarily on the sausage you are using. I'm very fortunate to live near a butcher who offers a decent choice of well seasoned sausages.
If the fat content of your sausage is high, you might consider preparing the sauce the day ahead and refrigerating it overnight. That way you can easily remove the hardened excess fat from the sauce the next day.
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb bulk (or casings removed) sweet Italian sausage
1 28oz can whole plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2-3 pinches red hot chili flakes
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh chopped parsley, to serve
4 servings of your favorite dried pasta
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until the garlic is lightly browned. Remove the garlic from the pan and set aside.
Crumble the sausage meat and fry until browned in the garlic flavored oil. Add the tomatoes, reserved garlic and the red hot chili flakes. Simmer gently until the sauce begins to thicken; about 20-25 minutes.
Stir in the Parmesan cheese and keep warm.
Prepare the pasta according to the directions on the package.
Divide the pasta among 4 plates and top each with the sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh parsley and serve.
