How to cook Anna Barnett’s Sicilian fennel sausage ragu

Introducing Food Rapporter Anna Barnett whose podcast The Filling is as delicious as her recipes. In her first column she calls on her most trusty ingredient…pasta.

Anna Barnett

Pasta will forever be my go to dish; whether it's a cold winter's night, a balmy summer's evening or a celebration of some sorts, pasta will always be present. A staple from my childhood and probably the first dish I ever learnt to cook, I love its versatility, its ability to feed the masses and the fact even the most humble of recipes with minimal ingredients can be the most delicious.

This recipe at some point replaced the classic bolognese and became my favourite dish. The sweetness that the fennel seeds bring along with the white wine makes this a firm family favourite and one we wheel out time and time again.

Sicilian fennel sausage ragu (feeds 4)

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 1 tbsp dried oregano A 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 Allow 90g of spaghetti per portion

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.