Sausage and Fennel Rigatoni

Ingredients

• 400 g rigatoni
• 6 good pork sausages, skins removed
• 2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 100 ml dry white wine
• 150 ml double cream
• 60 g parmesan, grated

Method

1. Brown the sausage

   Squeeze the sausagemeat into a hot pan in rough lumps and fry without stirring until one side is properly browned, then break it up. Craggy pieces are the point — mince it too fine and it turns to sand.

   8 min

2. Add the spices

   Stir in the fennel seeds, chilli and garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant.

3. Deglaze

   Pour in the wine, scrape the base clean and let it reduce by half, then stir in the cream.

   5 min

4. Cook the pasta

   Boil the rigatoni until al dente and lift it into the sauce with a mugful of its water.

   12 min

5. Finish

   Toss with the parmesan over a low heat until the sauce clings, loosening with pasta water as needed.