Jamie Who is a blog about everything. Except current affairs. And politics. Also science, sport, religion, celebrities, movies, media and marketing, technology, business and design. So...basically Jamie Who is a blog about food. All things food.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Whole wheat penne with pork sausage, blistered tomatoes and chilli


Sausages. Jeez I miss them. With the whole free-range thing it has honestly been one of the toughest things to give up. So you can imagine how stoked I was to stumble across Open Veld organic and free-range sausages recently. Created by Ian Bergh (trained chef), they are not made from sinewy off-cuts (like most sausages in this country) but rather good quality meat, sourced from ethical suppliers. This means they add no preservatives and cereals or bread in order to bulk them up. They also use less fat, which is an added bonus. (Look, they need to use some fat to add flavour - and help as a binding agent - but they are definitely healthier than most.) There are a couple of flavours but the one I keep coming back to is the pork, garlic and white wine variety. It's fantastic. My favourite way to cook them is to cut them open, take out the meat and use it in a pasta. Here's what I mean:

Stuff you'll need to feed 4:
  • 500g organic, whole wheat pasta of your choice (I prefer a short pasta with a chunky sauce like this, so go for something like penne, farfalle or fusilli)
  • A punnet of Open Veld pork sausage
  • 2 chillies, finely chopped
  • Half an onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • A handful of parsley, roughly chopped
  • A handful of basil, torn 
  • Half a tin of tomatoes
  • Three handfuls of rosa tomatoes
Okay, what to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Place your rosa tomatoes in a baking dish, pour over some olive oil, season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for about 35 minutes, or until blistered.  Remove and set aside. 

2. Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan and fry your onion until it softens. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for about 2 minutes more, making sure not to burn the garlic. 

3. Cut the sausage casing and remove meat. Add to the pan and fry until golden. 

4. Add the roasted tomatoes and the tinned tomatoes, reduce heat and gently simmer sauce until reduced to the desired consistency. 

5. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Drain, reserving a little bit of the cooking water. 

6. Add pasta sauce to pasta, along with cooking water. Throw in the chopped parsley and stir to combine. 

7. To serve, spoon into bowls and garnish with the basil. Shave over some pecorino cheese, if you really feel like a treat (and let's be honest...this dish deserves it.)

The great thing about this is the seasoning that is built into the sausages. It adds heaps of flavour for you so just keep that in mind and taste as you go. 

Cheers,
Jamie Who 

P.S. Look for Open Veld sausages at The Neighbourgoods market, The Foodbarn Deli (Noordhoek) and Melissa's. 

12 comments:

Cathy said...

Following our chat at Steenberg the other day, thought you might like to know that we came across Rudi's sausages at the Good Food show and bought some Cumberlands. Going to Toad in the Hole them soon - best way to cook sausages is in the oven in my opinion. These sound very good too - shall look out for them x

polkadotcupcake said...

What a beaut! I grew up on Cumberland sausages in England, and the frozen variety here just aren't the same.. Now, I've no idea as to their health or organic properties, but they sure were delicious! Will keep an eye out for these, thanks for the tip!

Jane-Anne said...

I bought some of these sausages on Sunday at the Neighbourhood market, and my goodness they were delicious, as were his other sausages. Great recipe.

browniegirl said...

I so have to try this when I can find some of those sausages...mind you I might try the Rudy's sausage that I bought at the Good Food and Wine show the other day....they were also great. Thanx Jamie xx

Anonymous said...

Sounds so good! I used to make a similar pasta with chorizo but this looks much healthier! Just a quick question-don't you find that the chilli loses its flavour if cooked? Or is it just me? I always like to add mine in fresh at the end. Thanks for a fantastic website!

Brendan McNulty said...

i think the warthog & bacon openveld sausages are superb too. try them if you haven't yet

Gail said...

That sounds so good - YUM :) Pasta this weekend!

Cathy said...

Forgot to say on my comment earlier - don't be too harsh about adding fillers. All british sausages add an amount of rusk to make them less dry and to help retain the fat - and we all know (to our cost!) that fat = flavour. I know I'm a pom and am probably speaking for myself, but I prefer a bit of filler in my sausage as opposed to the all meat wors we get in SA. Guess it's a personal thing!

PS - have you noticed how easy it is to read double entendres into any conversation about sausages?? Fnarr, fnarr!!!

Jamie Who said...

Jeez, I didn't know there were so many others who dig sausage so much! Rudi's are incredible too and were my best stand at the Good Food & Wine Show.

Jane-Anne said...

Coll, Cathy, the Rudi's sausages I bought at the good food show exploded in the pan, one after the other: they actually turned themselves inside out! But the filling tasted amazing, all mooshed up.

Nina Timm said...

Love using sausage meat for pasta sauces...I think it is the extra fat that does the trick and the spices from the sausage that you would not normally add to pasta. Love it!!

Anonymous said...

Go Openveld! amazing that someone is finally doing it in SA - I have heard some scary stories regarding the ingredients of so called "high quality" boerewors. Even places like Woolies are guilty.