One-pot Penne

Effort 2/5 /  Serves 6 / Prep 5 min / Cook  25 min

A painless plate of penne pasta - say that fast six times, and by the time you nail that I reckon this plate of painless penne pasta will be ready to eat! I don't kid about one pot, it's not to be underestimated.

One-Pot Penne Photo: supplied

Ingredients

• 6 fresh sausages (I went with an Italian style, which is usually a pork and beef sausage flavoured with herbs and fennel seeds)
• 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 long red chilli, thinly sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 6 anchovies, finely chopped (make it pasty)
• handful of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
• ¼ cup (60ml) white wine
• 500g penne pasta (check the packet and opt for penne with a 10 min cooking time)
• 3 x 400g cans cherry tomatoes
• finely grated fresh Parmesan, to serve

Method

Slit sausage casings and squeeze out filling onto a plate and create roughly 2cm meatballs.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add chilli, garlic and anchovy and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until it reaches the golden zone and smells aromatic. Add basil leaves and sausage meatballs and cook, stirring reasonably carefully for 4-5 minutes, or until cooked through. Add wine and bring to the boil, stirring, to deglaze the pan.

Add pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until shiny and warmed through. Add cherry tomatoes, then refill cans with water and add to pan (approx. 1.2 litres). Season with salt and pepper, stir to combine, then bring to the boil. Cook with lid off, stirring frequently (super important to prevent sticking) for 9 minutes (1 minute less than what the pasta packet says) or until pasta is cooked through.

Divide among bowls and scatter with Parmesan, basil leaves and cracked pepper to serve.

Make it veg: Lose the sausage and anchovies and go veggie all the way.

Use it up: Any canned tomatoes work in this one if you're trying to get rid of the tower of tomatoes in the back of your pantry.