Fennel Sausage & Chilli Ragù And Mafaldine With Dough Balls

Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan)/ gas 6

Boil a kettle

Peel and finely dice your brown onion[s]

Cut your red chilli[es] in half lengthways, deseed (scrape the seeds out with a teaspoon) and dice finely

Peel and finely chop (or grate) your garlic

Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat

Once hot, add the diced onion and cook for 2-3 min or until they have started to soften

Once the onion has started to soften, add your sausage meat (remove the paper if required!) with your fennel seeds and cook for 4-5 min or until starting to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go

While the sausage is cooking, add your mafaldine to a pot of boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Cook the mafaldine for 7-9 min or until cooked with a slight bite

Once done, drain the mafaldine, reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water

Reboil half a kettle

Add your dough balls to a baking tray (set the dip aside so it comes to room temperature)

Put the tray in the oven for 5-7 min or until golden brown

Once the sausage is starting to colour, reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped garlic and diced chilli (can't handle the heat? Go easy!) and cook for 30 secs or until fragrant

Once fragrant, add your Chinese rice wine with your clotted cream, 100ml [130ml] [170ml] boiled water and your chicken stock mix

Give everything a good mix up and cook for 4-5 min or until the sauce has thickened and the sausage is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your fennel sausage & chilli ragù

Wash your salad, then pat dry with kitchen paper

Once the ragù has thickened, add the cooked mafaldine with the reserved starchy pasta water, half your grated pecorino cheese (save the rest for garnish!) and a generous grind of pepper

Give everything a good mix up and cook for 30 secs further or until thickened and saucy – this is your fennel sausage & chilli ragù with mafaldine