sausage, butternut squash and spinach risotto

having had angela hartnett's orecchiette with sausage, fennel and flat-leaf parsley for supper and only used up half a pack of sausages, i needed a plan for the remaining two. throw some spinach that was on its last legs and half a butternut squash into the equation and i had a risotto in the making.

normally i would roast my butternut squash while making the risotto and then stir it in at the end. this time i decided to experiment with adding uncooked squash to the risotto pan and cooking it with the rice. this actually worked surprisingly well and as well as being healthier as the oil that i'd normally use for roasting the squash was not required, it also gave the dish a fresher flavour.

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orecchiette con salsiccia, finocchio e prezzemolo

i'm on a real pasta kick at the moment. i don't know if it's because i'm feeling lazy - the kitchen is still half full of unpacked boxes and we're trying to clear through things before having friends over for a housewarming bash at the weekend - or if it's because the weather is turning and i want comfort food.

either way, i've been having fun revisiting old favourites and trying new ideas for pasta dishes. having said that, this orecchiette con salsiccia, finocchio e prezzemolo isn't my recipe - it belongs to angela hartnett. i've only cooked one other recipe of hers - linguine with peas and parma ham - but based on how good both of these dishes taste, and how simple they are, i think i'll be trying out for a few more. her rabbit ragu is probably next on my list.

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sausage, roasted tomato and broccoli orecchiette

 

last october an obsession with sausages roasted with cherry tomatoes, fennel and balsamic was born. scented with rosemary and thyme, the combination of roasted tomatoes, the delicately flavoured fennel (this is a good way to eat fennel if you’re nervous of its aniseed flavour) and balsamic, come together in a rich sauce which contrasts fabulously with the meaty sausage. and best of all, there is plenty of sauce for mopping up with warm bread, slathered with butter. this was the perfect comfort food for a wet, chilly evening.

however, i have a new favourite way of cooking sausages, which is better suited to the warm summer weather which keeps attempting to make an appearance. having said that, it’s equally delicious and worth trying if the long-standing drizzle remains.

the winning combination of sausage and tomatoes remains but is lightened with the addition of tenderstem broccoli. this dish worked really well with orecchiette, whose texture contrasts well with the sausage and which holds little puddles of sauce in its hollows

this dish is my contribution to presto pasta nights which, this week, is being hosted by me! i hope you have a pasta or noodle dish to share with me, see here for details of how to get involved.

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barley risotto

when i was in pisa last weekend i ate a beautiful dish – farro con pesto e vongole.

i have been thinking about it all week but haven’t managed to find any farro yet, so decided to look at cooking with barley in its absence.

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italian sausages

it’s a chilly, wet and grey day in london. and despite the fact that it’s the middle of august, today i’m shunning salads and light flavours in favour of something more comforting.

i’m lucky to have a great little italian deli just ten minutes walk down the road from where i live. and working in central london means that soho’s italian delis are never far away either. and with them comes a ready supply of delicious fresh, homemade italian sausages. i love them with puy lentils but today i want pasta.

this is a great standby recipe - it tastes delicious (really rich and indulgent), the sausages take hardly any time to defrost if you don’t have a handy deli that you can visit, and all the other ingredients are usually easy enough to find.

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