Pieces from the Pantry .2

Pasta

Pantry pasta creations seem to be a big hit at the moment on the social medias so I thought I’d hop onto the trend train and give you my take. While I don’t shun any kind of dried pasta creation, even the humble student staple of pesto pasta or to throw it back even further to the school day lunch favourite of pasta with cheese, I would definitely recommend amping it up by following my recipe below. You could say I’m marking each significant period of my life with a pasta dish (odd choice granted), this being the graduate portion.  Get ready for some slightly more sophisticated ingredients but still a simple speedy recipe for those busy weeknights.

This week the star of the store cupboard is… dried pasta. Dried pasta comes in all shapes, sizes and colours (cue the ensuing categories round of ring of fire in which someone proudly remembers farfalle, the butterfly shaped pasta) and thus has remained on the shelves of our pantries for countless years. It is so cheap to buy, costing on average pennies which you can’t say for much these days (I’ve now turned 22 and suddenly think I have lived long enough to utter the words “these days”); it has a shelf life of around 2 years making it the perfect item to drag out of the cupboard on an uninspiring weeknight; and there are so many beautiful dishes to be made with this versatile ingredient.

I won’t get into a whole thing about which pasta shape is best (obviously fusilli) but with this recipe you can honestly use whatever’s on your pantry shelves. However, I would recommend smaller shapes rather than the longer linguine or spaghetti as it will lend itself better to the bitesize meatballs. I have chosen conchiglioni here as the wells on the insides of the shells pool the sauce and allow for yummy bursts of cheesy goodness. Dried pasta is also brilliant for this dish as it cooks more al dente (a.k.a. the pasta still has a bite to it) than fresh pasta. 

Other alternatives for the recipe include asparagus or fine green beans instead or as well as the tenderstem broccoli. You could also replace the Italian style sausages (which as far as I know are only available in M&S) with other sausages you have instead but try not to add in another strong flavour like a caramelised onion sausage as you want the fennel flavour to shine. I use these Italian style sausages in the recipe as one, we always seem to have a pack in the freezer, two, the fennel flavour in the sausage really compliments the fennel seeds and three, they are just generally darn delicious. 

To make this recipe a tad more vegetarian or vegan friendly you could easily do this without the meatballs, instead using tinned cannellini beans or just doubling up on the veg, and leave out the cream as the seasoned pasta water homogenises the sauce and coats the pasta beautifully all on its lonesome. Give the below recipe a go and start using up your dried pasta from the pantry any which way (hopefully readily available in all shops now after everyone’s penne panic a few months ago). 

Conchiglioni with Fennel Sausage Meatballs and Tenderstem Broccoli

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g pack of Italian style sausages (available in M&S)
• 150g tenderstem broccoli, ends chopped
• 320g dried conchiglioni pasta 
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 50g grated Parmesan (with extra to serve)
• Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Splash of double cream 
• Salt 
• Pepper

Method

1. Remove the sausage meat from the skins and shape into small balls (around 3cm). Heat 1tbsp of the oil in a medium sized frying pan on a medium high heat and brown the fennel sausage meatballs on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside on a plate. 
2. Heat a large saucepan of salted water until boiling. Add the broccoli and lower to a simmer. Cook for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside. 
3. Add your dried pasta to the same pan of simmering water and cook for around 10 minutes or per packet instructions. 
4. While the pasta is cooking, heat the remaining tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the crushed garlic and fennel seeds and cook for around 1 min, stirring constantly so the garlic doesn’t stick or burn.
5. Add the sausage meatballs back to the pan and cook, coating in the garlic and fennel seed mixture, for around 2 minutes. Then add the broccoli to the pan and stir.
6. When the pasta is perfectly al dente remove with a slotted spoon and add straight to the pan with the meatballs. 
7. Add the grated Parmesan, chopped parsley, double cream, a pinch or two of salt if necessary, a good few cracks of the black pepper mill and a spoonful or two of the salted pasta water to bring the sauce together and coat the pasta. 
8. Top with more grated Parmesan if desired (and who doesn’t desire it?) and serve with a smile.