Sausage & Mushroom Scoobi Doo Pasta

Spicy Sausage & Mushroom Scoobi Doo Pasta
Mostly from Jamie' Ministry of Food "Pass It On"

Printable Recipe

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients:
2 heaped teaspoons fennel seeds (naturally, I THOUGHT I had some, oh well, I did use 1 heaping tsp of ground fennel seeds instead)
½ dried red pepper, crumbled (again, mine was sort of soft, so I thinly sliced it)
olive oil
21oz/600g good-quality coarse Italian sausages ( I used my local Italian market’s own sweet fennel sausages)
½ lb/225g mushrooms, thickly sliced (I like cremini)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
6oz or so white wine
zest and juice of 1 lemon
6oz/170g multigrain scoobi doo pasta (or fusilli, penne, farfalle)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving (and once more, I ran out, so I had some pre-grated Asiago – worked just fine)
a small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Remove the sausage meat from the casings and crumble into the hot pan. Sauté for a few minutes until the meat is mostly cooked (about 5 minutes) and add the mushrooms (you might need a bit more oil) toss and continue to cook until the mushrooms are golden.

2. Add the fennel and chilies and cook until the meat gets crispy and dark brown and the pan juices begin to caramelize.

3. Stir in the oregano and white wine, reducing by about half. Add the lemon zest and juice and turn down the heat while you prepare your pasta – as per package instructions.

4. Once the pasta is al dente, drain (reserving about ¾ cup of pasta water) and add to the skillet. Toss and transfer to a serving bowl. Add the cheese and parsley and (this is when you might want to add a bit of the pasta water) taste for seasoning.

Serve with a simple salad