Sausage ragù with fennel and orange
- Published: 26 Jul 24
- Updated: 14 Aug 24
Sausagemeat makes an incredible base for pasta sauce, especially when paired with bright southern Italian flavours like fennel and orange. The result is something lighter than a thick tomato-based ragù, but still with buckets of flavour behind it.
Find more of our sausage pasta recipe ideas here.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fennel seeds
- 8 pork sausages (ideally Italian sausages), removed from their skins
- 4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
- ½ red chilli, finely sliced
- ½ fennel bulb, finely chopped and fronds reserved
- 1 bay leaf
- Finely grated zest 1 orange, plus half its juice
- 200ml dry white wine
- 300g casarecce or similar pasta
- ½ bunch parsley, leaves picked and chopped
Method
- Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Heat the oil in a separate large saucepan over a medium heat, then add the fennel seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sausagemeat and fry, breaking it all up with a wooden spoon, until golden and caramelised (about 5 minutes). You want a mince-like texture rather than big lumps.
- Add the garlic, chilli and fennel, then continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add the bay leaf and orange zest, then squeeze in the orange juice and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Pour in the wine, bring to a simmer and leave to gently bubble away while you cook the pasta.
- Add the pasta to the boiling salted water and cook for 8-10 minutes (depending on how al dente – with bite – you like it). Drain, reserving a cupful of pasta water, then tip it into the ragù. Stir vigorously, adding a splash of pasta water to help create a thick sauce that clings to the casarecce. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in the chopped parsley and divide among bowls.
- Recipe from August 2024 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 695kcals
- Fat
- 33g (11g saturated)
- Protein
- 23g
- Carbohydrates
- 64g (6g sugars)
- Fibre
- 7.1g
- Salt
- 1.4g
delicious. tips
You can scale up this ragù to make larger batches – it freezes particularly well.
The ‘sauce’ in this ragù is thanks to the emulsification of the white wine, orange juice and fat from the sausages – so make sure you’re using the best quality sausages you can buy.
Buy ingredients online
Rate & review
Rate
Reviews
Subscribe to our magazine
Food stories, skills and tested recipes, straight to your door... Enjoy 5 issues for just £5 with our special introductory offer.
SubscribeUnleash your inner chef
Looking for inspiration? Receive the latest recipes with our newsletter