Sicilian fennel sausage spaghetti

Feeds – 4

Preparation time – 10 minutes

Cooking time – 2-3hrs

Ingredients –

several generous glugs of olive oil

1 banana shallot or white onion – finely diced

1 stalk of celery – finely diced

1 carrot – grated or finely diced

3 large cloves of garlic – finely chopped or 5 cloves of confit garlic

2 fresh bay leaves

5 fennel sausages (Salsicciamo is a fave brand) – removed from skins

or

(5 good quality pork sausages – removed from skins

1 heaped tsp fennel seeds - muddled or blitzed)

1 glass of white wine

1 tin of cherry tomatoes or good quality plum tomatoes

tbsp dried oregano

generous sprinkle of white pepper

several turns of freshly ground black pepper and a generous sprinkle of sea salt flakes

garnish – drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

fresh thyme and or finely chopped parsley

a grating of Grana Padano

Instructions –

Begin by adding your glug of oil to your pan. Place over a medium heat and once hot add in the shallot, celery, carrot, garlic and bay leaves. Sweat down for about 10 minutes, avoid browning the veg. Next add in the pork, breaking it down a little with the back of your wooden spoon. Let this cook through then add in your white wine and increase the heat a little, cook for a minute or so then add in the tinned tomatoes, oregano and seasoning. Cover and allow to simmer over a medium to low heat for 2-3 hours stirring every now and again.

Serve with al dente spaghetti, a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some fresh herbs to garnish