Sausage and chilli pasta

I don't do many mains, partly because they don't seem so 'special', given you eat them every day (and I presume you don't eat cake every day...) and because I'm not into them as much in terms of making. Well, I wasn't, but I sense that's changing. I decided to put this recipe up because I've found that I'm making it loads (about once a fortnight or so) and it's just so good. Plus, you can easily make it in under an hour, meaning it's perfect when you are too unimaginative to do anything else and you just want to eat something (me, most of the time). I say unimaginative, but that's not to say that it's boring: with spicy chili peppers and the distinctive tastes of fennel seeds and balsamic vinegar, it is delicious. And, served with a rocket and Parmesan salad, makes a good family meal. If that wasn't enough, it also makes a brilliant next-day lunch as it can be eaten warm or cold.

Sausage and chili pasta
Prep time: 40 minutes
Serves: 6


Ingredients
For the pasta:
4 spring onions
1 large carrot
1 stick of celery
1-2 fresh red chili peppers
Pack of 6 good-quality sausages (about 400g) -though I'm often 100g or so short and it's still fine
1 heaped tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp dried oregano
500g dried tube pasta, like penne or rigatoni
4 cloves of garlic
4 tbsps balsamic vinegar
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
Some basic leaves to garnish
For the salad:
Mixed bag of rocket and watercress salad
Red chicory head
Juice of 1 lemon
Parmesan 

Method

1. Trim and roughly chop the spring onions, carrot and celery. Puree in a food processor or with a stick blender until smooth. Add the chili, scraping out the seeds first if you don't want it super hot.
2. Squeeze the sausages out their skins (it can get caught in the blades) and chop before adding to the processor with the fennel seeds and oregano. Pulse until mixed.
3. Heat up some oil in a large frying pan and spoon in the sausage mix, stirring it often.
4. Meanwhile, boil the kettle and fill a large saucepan with the water, refilling if you need to. Cook the pasta according to the packet.
5. Whilst the pasta is cooking, peel and finely chop the garlic, and add it to the sausage with the tin of tomatoes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and add some of the pasta water if it needs to be a bit more sauce-like. 
6. Drain off the pasta, reserving a few table spoons of water. Mix the pasta into the sausage. Add enough water to give the sauce a nice, smooth consistency. Season the pasta and serve with shredded basil leaves and shavings of Parmesan.

For the salad:

1. Trim and finely chop the chicory. Toss it together with the rocket salad. Shave over some Parmesan and serve with lemon wedges on the side, and olive oil and vinegar for people to make their own dressings.