Saucy Sausage and Lemon Pasta

This dish masterfully combines the savory depth of sausage with the bright zest of lemon, resulting in a creamy, flavorful pasta that's both comforting and refreshing. Using Paccheri pasta, known for its large tubes, ensures that each bite is filled with the rich, lemony sauce. It's an ideal choice for a quick yet indulgent weeknight dinner.

Ingredients

• 250g dry Paccheri pasta (or your preferred pasta shape)

• 400g sausages or sausage meat

• 2 shallots or 1 small brown onion, finely diced

• 1 tsp fennel seeds

• 1 large lemon (zest and juice)

• 1–2 tsp chili flakes (adjust to taste)

• 2 cloves garlic, sliced

• 300ml pasta water (reserved from cooking)

• 70g Parmesan cheese, grated

• 60ml crème fraîche or double cream

• 15g fresh parsley, chopped
  
  

Equipment Needed:

• Stainless steel frying pan

• Large pasta pot
  
  

Instructions

1. Heat a large stainless or carbon steel sauté pan over high heat. It’s ready when water droplets skitter across the surface.

2. Reduce the heat slightly and add a drizzle of cooking oil.

3. Remove the sausages from their casings and add the meat to the pan. Break it up with a wooden spatula and cook until golden brown, about 10–12 minutes.

4. While the sausage cooks, prepare the remaining ingredients: chop the parsley, dice the shallot/onion, and slice the garlic. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta, using less water than usual to create starchier pasta water.

5. Increase the pan heat to medium-high. Add the diced shallot and fennel seeds to the sausage, cooking until the shallot softens, about 4–5 minutes.

6. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.

7. Zest the lemon into the pan, add chili flakes and sliced garlic. Stir until the garlic softens, about 1 minute, then add the lemon juice.

8. Once the pasta is very al dente, drain it, reserving about 500ml of the starchy pasta water.

9. Add the drained pasta to the sausage pan. Pour in 200ml of the reserved pasta water, the crème fraîche, and the Parmesan. Keep the pan on low heat, tossing the pasta to combine. Add more pasta water as needed to achieve a creamy, glossy sauce that coats the pasta.

10. Season to taste, adding more lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and serve.
    
    

Serving Suggestions

This pasta dish serves 3 to 4 people and is perfect on its own or accompanied by a simple green salad and crusty bread to soak up the delicious sauce.

Nutritional Information

While specific nutritional details aren’t provided, this dish includes protein from the sausage, calcium from the Parmesan and crème fraîche, and carbohydrates from the pasta. For precise nutritional information, consider inputting the ingredients into a nutritional calculator based on your specific brands and quantities used.