a friend recommended the black pudding and apple sausages which waitrose sell on their deli counters. i picked up four earlier in the week and adapted the jamie oliver bloke’s pasta recipe to create a super-delish supper.

the sausages don’t have a high black pudding content but you can definitely taste its presence. i didn’t notice the apple. i added cavolo nero and cherry tomatoes for extra vegetable oomph. i also added a glug of cream as the chilli i used was hotter than i expected, which added an extra layer of richness which balanced really well with the freshness of the lemon and parsley.

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three savoy cabbages... what’s a gal to do?

thankfully a friend of mine had one particularly lovely suggestion – add pancetta, pinenuts, pasta and, very excitingly, melting mozzarella. what a fab idea!

this recipe works really well – a hint of austerity and health from the cabbage (packed full of flavour as a result of it being savoy), mouth-watering moments courtesy of the pancetta and parmesan plus a rich soothing comfort and indulgence factor thanks to the soft, melting, oozing mozzarella. it’s quick and easy to pull together too.

the only downer is that it only uses ½ a cabbage...

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fennel is a real favourite of mine – whether it be the fresh vegetable, which i am as happy to eat raw or cooked, or fennel seeds which i use to spice many different types of dishes – and it works particularly well with pork, especially sausages.

sausage and fennel is a classic combination for pasta dishes and i’m enjoying trying different variations. first it was angela hartnett’s orecchiette con salsiccia, finocchio e prezzemolol, next it’s going to be gordon ramsay’s sausage, fennel seed and tomato pappardelle, but this week i tried jamie oliver’s proper blokes' sausage fusilli.

this recipe is very different from angela hartnett’s dish which contains a lot of tomatoes which make a rich sauce. in jamie’s recipe there isn’t much of a sauce, just the juices which form as the sausages cook in a small amount of white wine. the flavour kick comes from the combination of fennel seeds, dried chillies and lemon zest plus the herbiness of oregano and parsley.

this is a really delicious dish and i like the cleanness of the taste. i added shredded cavolo nero and i think this really adds to the flavours and, of course, provides some much-needed vegetable content.

this is my contribution to this week’s presto pasta nights which is being hosted by a fellow african in the vanielje kitchen.

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