Spaghetti with Spicy Beef Sausages

I am not a pasta lover but my husband simply fancies it, especially the tomato based type of pasta. Italian food is definitely not my cup of tea and the last time I made any pasta was years back using the ready made pasta sauce in those glass jars. This time, I decided not to use those instant pasta sauces sold in the supermarkets. One of my friends suggested that I should use fresh herbs in my pasta. She told me that the Italians use fresh basil leaves in their pasta and that is the key to making very aromatic sauces. I am not sure if this is true but my pasta sauce for this evening’s dinner did turn out quite well with an exceptionally lovely scented flavour.

This dish is fairly simple to prepare, particularly for pasta lovers who prefer a home cooked meal. The taste is light and mild for those who do not like an overly rich type of pasta sauce. The best part of preparing a pasta dish is that you can select any type of meat that suits your palate. Whether it is beef, chicken or pork (minced or chunks), they all go well in most tomato based pasta.

Recipe for Spaghetti with Spicy Beef Sausages (serves 3-4 persons):

Ingredients:

Oil for cooking

Spicy beef sausages

1 large onion (finely chopped)

Bacon pieces (diced)

4 tomatoes (diced)

1 can of condensed tomato soup

250ml of water

Basil leaves (fresh, roughly diced)

Oregano leaves (fresh, roughly diced)

400g of spaghetti

Cheddar cheese (grated)

Parsley (fresh, roughly diced)

Salt

Pepper

Procedure:

1. Heat up a pan and grease well with some oil. Pan-fry the sausages thoroughly. Set aside for later use.

2. Heat up the pan again. Grease the pan well with the cooking oil. Add the chopped onions. Cook them till they turn slightly translucent in colour and fragrant. Add the diced bacon and tomatoes and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

3. Add the tomato soup and water. Stir well and add the basil and oregano leaves into the tomato mixture. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

4. While the tomato mixture is being cooked, prepare the spaghetti. Boil a large pot of water. Add some salt and oil into the water. Add the spaghetti into the boiling water and remove from the pot once it is cooked. Drain the spaghetti.

5. Return to the pasta sauce. Add the cooked sausages and grated cheddar cheese into the tomato mixture and cook for another 5 minutes. Stir well so that the tomato mixture is well mixed.

6.  Add the fresh parsley, salt and pepper into the tomato mixture according to your taste.

7. Remove from heat and serve with the cooked spaghetti.