This easy pasta bake suggests using pork sausages, but beef or lamb also work well. Use good quality sausages to mix with the spicy tomato sauce and pasta in this quick and easy Sausage Meatball Pasta Bake Recipe.
Sausage Meatball Pasta Bake Recipe
Serves 4–6
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
500g good-quality pork sausages, skinned
1 slice white bread, processed into crumbs in a food processor
1 large free-range egg yolk
1 tsp fennel seeds
500g pack ziti, snapped into 3 (or macaroni or bucatini)
400g can chopped tomatoes
700g jar passata (tomato sauce)
300ml chicken stock, hot
50g parmesan, grated (or grana padano)
fresh thyme sprigs, to serve
Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan and gently fry onion, garlic and rosemary for 5 minutes until softened and golden.
Put sausage meat in a bowl. Mix in the onion mixture, breadcrumbs, egg yolk, fennel seeds and black pepper. Roll into walnut-size balls.
Preheat oven to 200C. Cook pasta in a large pan of boiling, slightly salted water for 5 minutes and then drain well. Tip pasta into an ovenproof dish. Mix in tomato, passata, stock and meatballs. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 40 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. To serve, garnish with fresh thyme sprigs.
Smart Tip:
To freeze for up to 2 months, cool completely, wrap in cling film and freeze. Defrost thoroughly before reheating at 190C for 30 minutes until piping hot (cover with foil if it’s browning too much).
