I know, I’m hopeless. Just over a year between posts. I need to pick up my pace! Eek.

But really, we need to talk about tonight. What about you ask? Well, let me tell you. The speediest, most delicious almost bolognese sauce I think I’ve had. I’m not calling it a bolognese sauce because you know, a true bolognese sauce should not be insulted. But a bolognese sauce is often cooked low and slow. It’s Friday night, I’ve been visiting my beautiful Mama in hospital (love you Mama) and I wanted quick and easy. Not to mention it was a ridiculously wet day here in Melbourne, and I didn’t feel like the summery sausages and salad I had planned. Add the fact that I almost always want pasta, and well, sausages and salad begone.

But what to do?? My mind went immediately to a dish I recently cooked, the Rosé Prawn Pesto Pasta from Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients cookbook, and the tweak I have made since using my own napolitana as inspiration. So I decided to tweak it again to feed my pasta craving tonight.

I used the classic soffrito base (onion, carrot, celery), added the meat from lean beef sausages, a little beef style stock powder, red pesto, Pinot noir, salt, pepper, freshly cooked pappardelle and some cooking water and BOOM! We’re done. Mere minutes really to almost bolognese heaven. Served with Parmesan cheese and a little more pepper, and a glass or two of said Pinot Noir, of course.

Yes, it was homemade pasta which added to the overall deliciousness. And I thank the freezer inventor for allowing me to freeze homemade pasta to cook homemade pasta quickly at a moments notice. This would be just as delicious with dried store bought pasta, though it would take a teensy bit longer to cook.

I had the Peppercorn lean beef sausages defrosted, ready to eat. I don’t think extra flavour is needed, it was ridiculously delicious as is, but you could add flavour by using Italian sausages, inbuilt with lots of herbs and yummy things. And really, use whatever yummy wine you have opened to celebrate the end of the week, it’ll be delicious with any wine I feel!

I do implore you to try this when you’re short on time, or even when you’re not, but feel like a rich, delicious almost bolognese pasta. If you make it, let me know what you think!!

Serves 1, double, triple, quadruple etc as needed

75g fresh or frozen fresh pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta, or your pasta of choice
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 carrot, finely chopped
1/2 celery stick, finely chopped
1/2 eschalot or 1/4 small red onion
2 lean beef Peppercorn sausages
1/2 Massel Beef Style stock cube
1 tbsp Mutti Red Pesto Style Stir Through Sauce
75ml red wine, I used Farm to Table Pinot Noir
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Bring a pot of water to the boil. Salt very generously. Cook your pasta of choice according to directions. Don’t drain when ready though! Fresh pasta is super speedy to cook, I added my pasta when I put my sausages in the fry pan, and cooked the pasta from frozen for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the frypan on medium and add the oil. Add the soffrito (onion, carrot and celery) and cook for about 3 minutes until almost soft.

Cut down the side of each sausage with a sharp knife, add the meat to the pan (discard the skins) and break up the meat as it browns, about 5 minutes.

Crumble in the stock cube half, stir it through then stir through the pesto, put on low heat or take off the heat, don’t want it to burn if your pasta isn’t ready.

Just before the pasta is ready, pour the wine into the sauce, season to taste, mix well and simmer to reduce and thicken a little, a minute or two. Add the cooked pasta (using tongs or a spider skimmer), directly from the pasta pot to the sauce in the frypan, adding about an 1/8 cup of pasta water. Stir the pasta through the sauce to evenly coat, then add to your bowl. Sprinkle Parmesan, add pepper to taste, and enjoy.

Buon appetito! Xx