I’ll Cook! by Sophie Godwin is published by Murdoch Books,
£20.00,
murdochbooks.co.uk
How to Make this Simple Sausage Rigatoni
Sophie Godwin tells us how to make her moreish sausage rigatoni
There's a kind of magic that happens when you roast a whole squash; I can't get enough of it, especially when it's blitzed into a velvety pasta sauce. When combined with sausage, fennel and chilli, this pasta dish gives pure vibes.
Serves
4
Takes
1 hour 20 minutes
Can be
V
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1 garlic bulb
- 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 lemon
- 120–150g soft goat’s cheese
- 400–500g pasta, depending on how hungry you are (I like rigatoni, but you do you)
- 6 sausages (use your fave – pork or veggie work)
- About 20g sage leaves
- 1/2–1 tsp chilli flakes (depending on how spicy you like it)
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Halve the squash lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Drizzle the cut sides with one tablespoon of the olive oil and season. Place, cut-sides down, on the baking tray.
Cut the top off the garlic, then drizzle the bulb with oil. Season and wrap in foil, then place on the baking tray. Roast for 40–45 minutes until the squash and garlic are tender. Leave until cool enough to handle.
Scoop the squash flesh into a blender and smoosh in the garlic, discarding the skin. Zest the lemon and set aside, then add the juice to the blender, along with half of the goat’s cheese. Blitz to a smooth sauce (you may need to add a splash of water). Season to taste and set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions, or for one minute less if you like it super al dente.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Squeeze the sausages out of their skins and add to the pan. Fry for six to eight minutes, breaking up the sausage meat into small pieces and stirring regularly until golden and crisp.
Pick the sage leaves into the pan and add the chilli, fennel seeds and lemon zest. Fry for two minutes until the sage is crisp, then reduce the heat to low.
Drain the pasta, reserving a mugful of the water. Tip the pasta back into the pan, stir in the butternut sauce and heat through, loosening with some pasta water, if needed. Divide the pasta between bowls, top with the sausage and sage mixture, then dot over the remaining goat’s cheese.
GET AHEAD
You can make the butternut sauce the day before.
