Double Sausage & Chicken Pasta

Hello kind readers! BBC2 checking in and I hope you are all well. Thanks for dropping by to read our blog again, or welcome if you’re new to BBC. Things in Cornwall are wet with a splash of sunshine every now and then, just enough to make you think that spring is on the way, but I’m sure February will put pay to that!

We live a short drive from the Atlantic ocean (4 miles), in a very rural location, and sometimes the weather we have at home can be so different from that on the coast. I tell you this by way of introducing this dish; you see we had our very good friend and self-appointed chief taste tester, Lizzie, coming for a sleep-over on Saturday and I wanted to cook a pasta dish, as the last time she came for a sleep-over BBC1 cooked Chinese Chicken Curry In A Hurry (ish) With Egg Fried Rice.

So back to the pasta, Saturday morning I had gone with Max for his walk, I had to go with him because being a dog he hasn’t learnt to drive yet and he likes to walk along the cliffs and on the beach each morning, come rain or shine. When we left the house the sun was shining and 4 miles later when we arrived at the beach it was pouring with rain. So we sat in the car having a chat. Him telling me not to be a wimp and let’s just get out and run after some tennis balls, and me trying to explain that I was not as young as he is and that getting absolutely soaked was something I’d like to avoid.

Anyway, the sun came out and we went for a walk, well he ran off to say hello and play with his friends, leaving me walking behind in the sunshine and thinking about what to cook for Lizzie. I knew we had a smoked pork sausage and four pork sausages left over in the fridge, so this was the start of the dish, I hope you like it and I look forward to all and any feedback.

Ingredients:

2 skinless chicken breasts sliced into ¼ inch peaces
4 pork sausages – fried and then sliced into bite sized pieces
227g/9 oz smoked pork sausage sliced into ¼ inch discs
2 onions finely diced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 courgette/zucchini cut length-ways then cut into ¼ inch half-moons
1 each red and green bell pepper deseeded and cut into ½ inch bits
250g/10 oz chestnut mushrooms cut into large chunky pieces
¾ cup frozen sweet corn
3 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
2/3 tablespoons olive oil
200g/8 oz Pennie pasta

Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat, and then add the sliced smoked and pork sausage and fry until golden brown, remove using a slotted spoon and place to one side on a clean plate. Now add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and fry the chicken until it takes on some colour then remove using the slotted spoon and place on the plate with the sausage. Once the pork sausages are cold enough to handle slice them into bite sized chunks.

You may need to add another tablespoon of olive oil to fry the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes or until they start to turn translucent, but don’t let them brown. Next stir in the courgettes, peppers, oregano and Italian seasoning stirring the mixture together to get an even coating of the herbs throughout the mixture and fry for a minute or two.

Now add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree and the frozen sweet corn, season with a little salt and pepper and cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes then stir in the mushroom, sausages and chicken turn the heat down and cover the pan.

Now put on a large pan of salted water to boil and cook the pasta according to manufacturers instructions, but don’t over cook the pasta, you will need it slightly undercooked as it will be going in with the chicken and sausage mixture and continue cooking to soak up some of the sauce.

When the pasta is cooked reserve a cup of the pasta water as you may need to add some liquid to your sauce if it has reduced too much, now drain the pasta and fold it into the chicken and sausage sauce evenly distributing it through the mixture, replace the lid and let it cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until pasta cooked ‘al dente’ or to your liking, adding a little of the reserved pasta water if the sauce has thickened too much.

Place in the centre of the table and let everyone help themselves, and serve with a little grated parmesan and ciabatta bread, sliced rubbed with a clove of garlic and drizzled with some olive oil, this is a good sharing meal that allows conversation to flow and people can just help themselves in true Mediterranean style.

BBC1: This was a very nice meal and the sausages give the sauce and the chicken a lovely smokey flavour. There is enough of this meal to serve about 6 to 8 portions. Thank you BBC2, but you must do a post for your ciabatta bread it really went well with the pasta!