Sausage, Thyme & Mushroom White Ragù With Spaghetti

Before you begin...

Get all your ingredients and equipment ready

Skim through these steps, then wash your fruit and veg

Note: Equipment and pan sizes vary. Make sure you cook food thoroughly (even if it takes you a little longer than 10 min)

Boil a kettle

Add your pasta to a pot of boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat

Cook the pasta for 7-9 min (10–12 min for wholewheat) or until cooked with a slight bite

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

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

Once hot, crumble your white cup mushrooms finely into the pan with your hands

Add your sausage meat (remove the paper if required!) and cook for 5 min or until beginning to brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go

Reboil half a kettle

Wash your salad and pat it dry with kitchen paper

Add the salad to a bowl with your balsamic vinegar and a generous drizzle of olive oil and toss together – this is your balsamic salad

Dissolve your chicken stock mix in 175ml [230ml] [300ml] boiled water with your Chinese rice wine and soft cheese – this is your creamy stock

Once the sausage meat has begun to brown, add your roasted garlic paste with your dried thyme and 1 tsp [1 1/2 tsp] [2 tsp] flour

Cook for 1 min or until fragrant

Once fragrant, add the creamy stock and a generous pinch of salt

Cook for a further 2-3 min or until the sauce has thickened and the sausage meat is cooked through (no pink meat!) – this is your sausage, thyme & mushroom white ragù

Once thickened, add the drained pasta and half your grated Italian hard cheese (save the rest for garnish!) to the pan with a generous grind of black pepper

Give everything a good mix up and add a splash of starchy pasta water if your sauce is looking a little dry – this is your sausage, thyme & mushroom white ragù with pasta