A fresh tasting tomato sauce, quick cook sausages and a crispy cheesy crumb make a delicious family supper that everyone will love. Great to make ahead for busy days.
- 400g Garofalo dried Penne
- Sea salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pack Helen Browning’s Organic Speedy Sausages
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 50g Mature Cheddar cheese, grated
- 50g 1-day old bread
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- Black pepper
- pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)
- 3x 400g tins organic chopped plum tomatoes
- 1x 340g tin organic sweetcorn, drained
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
Cook the penne in a large pan of salted, boiling water for 2 minutes less than pack instructions. Drain and return to the pan, reserving a cup of the pasta water.
Meanwhile, add a splash of olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat, cook the sausages for around 4 minutes until they are browned. Do not overcook – they are already partly cooked and only need colouring at this stage. Remove from the pan and carefully cut each sausage into 3 pieces and set to one side.
Peel and finely slice (or press) the garlic. Put one third of the garlic into a bowl with the grated cheese. Tear the bread into small chunks or blitz in the food processor, add to the cheese and garlic mix with a pinch of the oregano. Stir and season generously with salt and pepper.
To make the sauce, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining garlic, dried oregano and chilli flakes to taste. Stir until the garlic is lightly coloured, then tip in the tomatoes. Use a splash of water to rinse out each tin so not to waste any of the lovely tomatoey juice. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and bubble for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Remove sauce from heat and stir through the sausage pieces, sweetcorn and drained pasta. Add the reserved pasta water to loosen up the sauce if necessary. Tip the pasta mixture into a large baking dish and sprinkle over the cheesy crumb mix.
If making ahead, cool, cover and refrigerate at this point. When ready to reheat, add another 5 mins to baking time.
Bake for 15 mins until the bread crumbs are slightly crisp at the edges and the cheese is golden and bubbling. Leave to rest for 5 mins, then take the baking dish straight to the table to serve.
Left overs will also freeze well. Just defrost and reheat till piping hot when required.
