Lamb Sausage Pasta with Basil & Tomato
Lamb Sausage Pasta with Basil & Tomato -a fresh, tasty combination of lamb, basil, tomato and creamy pasta.
Servings 4
Calories 598kcal
Ingredients
- 500 g lamb sausages
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 cup basil leaves firmly packed
- 250 g cherry tomatoes quartered
- 2 garlic cloves crushed/minced
- 4 sundried tomato halves not oil packed - very finely chopped
- 1/2 cup pure/pouring cream
- juice of 1 lemon
- 375 g fresh fettucine pasta from the supermarket refrigerated section (see notes)
- fresh parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to packet directions and set aside.
- Meanwhile, squeeze meat from sausage casings and roughly shape into small rustic meatballs, each one made with about half-a-walnut-sized chunk of mince - you want them to be bite size (see notes).
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat, add sausage meat and fry for 1-2 mins or until just cooked - remove to a plate lined with paper towel/kitchen paper to drain any oil.
- Depending on the fat content of your sausages you may need to drain any excess fat from the pan using paper towel/kitchen paper (see notes).
- Turn down heat to medium and add tomatoes, cook stirring for 1-2 minutes or until they start to soften, making sure to scrape up any flavour spots on the base of the pan.
- Add garlic and sundried tomatoes to pan and fry for another minute.
- Add cream, lemon juice, basil and reserved meatballs then turn off heat after 30 seconds, stirring until the basil is wilted.
- Add pasta to lamb mixture, stirring to combine.
- Serve with fresh parmesan.
Notes
**For more great lamb recipes see my Lamb for Dinner collection - my comprehensive guide to all things lamb, including choosing the right cut plus hints and tips, AND all of my lamb dinner recipes in the one place!**
I like to use fresh pasta where I can because it cooks so quickly - you could of course use any type of pasta you want (including dried) but this may add to your time. I haven't included any directions about cooking the pasta as these are all contained on whatever packet you purchase.
I like the size of the meatballs to be able to be eaten in one mouthful that includes a cherry tomato quarter, some basil AND some pasta. I really enjoy the taste of the full flavour combination in as many bites as I can get - after all that's why I put these flavours together in the first place!
The fat content of sausages can vary greatly, this is why I mentioned that you may need to drain any excess fat from the pan. It's ok to leave a little - but you don't need much to get the tomatoes frying.
I really only included the teaspoon of olive oil at the start to help stop the little meatballs from sticking too much to the pan. If they stick a small amount this is ok because it actually adds to the flavour of the sauce. Any bits stuck to the base of the pan will come up when the tomatoes start to let down their juices.
The reason I turn the heat off quite quickly after adding the cream to the pan is so that the cream doesn't thicken too much - it will thicken on cooling/standing.
*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*