River Cottage

Separate the cavalo nero stalks from the leaves. Finely chop the stalks and roughly chop the leaves.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted boiling water until tender.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a dash of oil. Remove the skin from the sausage and crumble roughly into the hot pan along with a pinch of fennel seeds. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the sausage meat is cooked through.

Add the cavalo nero stems and the garlic to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes adding 2-4tbsp of the pasta cooking water to create a sauce.

Add the cavalo nero leaves to the pasta 1 minute before you are ready to drain. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and transfer to the sausage pan along with the cavalo nero leaves. Mix well so that everything is coated in the sauce. Serve immediately with a grating of fresh parmesan.

LINKS

Get the book that inspired the series: Hugh's Three Good Things.