Venison Sausage Pasta Recipe – a spicy solution to the solo sausage dilemma.
Sausages tend to come in packs of 4 or 6. If you are me and cook mostly for yourself or one other person, that can mean three or four days of sausages and chips. Or far too much toad in the hole. One solution is to make this very yummy spicy sausage pasta dish. If there are two of you with two leftover sausages – this will make quite enough for both of you. Or, just a single sausage will feed one hungry adult quite comfortably. Why not try this venison sausage pasta recipe. It’s easy and quick and will make the perfect supper for one or two.
My recipe for venison sausage pasta includes quite a lot of chilli and makes a spicy venison sausage recipe. If you are cooking for kids or just don’t like spicy food then cut down the chilli flakes or replace them with half a teaspoon of paprika which will add spice without heat. I’ve made this dish with venison sausages because venison meat is a very healthy but well flavoured red meat. Of course, you can use any kind of sausages but please make sure they are good quality and have a high meat content. I also don’t always use parmesan, if the sausages are good enough quality, it doesn’t add much for me. If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, then a spoonful of tomato puree or even tomato ketchup will work fine and will look prettier too (fresh tomatoes in the UK don’t have the depth of colour that puree or ketchup has). There are a number of variations on this recipe around. It’s up to you to play and work out what combination of flavours works best for you. Obviously, use some common sense…if you are using herbed sausages then consider whether or not to add herbs to the sauce. Otherwise, enjoy this easy supper of spicy venison sausage pasta!
Spicy Venison Sausage Pasta - an easy supper for one or two
- 2 large venison sausages these need to be good quality (mine were venison from Abel and Cole)
- 1 banana shallot finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes skinned and roughly chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (or less depending on taste)
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped or crushed
- 1 glass red wine
- 150 g pasta I suggest penne, rigatoni, tagliatelle or fusilli
- handful flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 1 lemon zested and juiced (or a tablespoon of balsamic or extra wine!)
- 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese grated, to taste - optional
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
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Remove the sausage meat from the skins and mash up with a fork with the chilli and garlic. If you prefer chunks, then you can simply slice the sausages into thickish pieces
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Gently fry the shallot in oil till soft
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Add the venison sausage meat and raise the heat, stirring to brown the meat all over and mashing it down with the back of a wooden spoon.
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Once the meat is fully browned, add the tomatoes, lemon juice and zest and wine. Season with black pepper and salt.
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Lower the heat and simmer gently while you prepare the pasta according to the packet instructions. The sauce needs to reduce by about a third and cook for around 12-15 minutes so if you are using fresh pasta, then please allow the sauce to simmer for about 10 minutes before you start to cook the pasta.
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Drain the pasta and add to the sausage sauce. Stir through and leave for a few minutes.
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Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with fresh parsley and parmesan to taste
I’m now very full…and that is after spending an hour at the gym this afternoon trying to make good the effect of all those Easter Eggs
Oh, and if there ARE any leftovers, venison sausage pasta heats up very well in the microwave.
Thinking of making this yourself? Why not pin the post for later?
Looking for other venison recipes? why not try my delicious recipe for venison loin medallions with red wine sauce.
For other ideas with sausages, how about this fabulous recipe for sweet and sour sausage casserole. Or this one for a low-calorie toad in the hole.
For a vegetarian or vegan version of this recipe check my vegetarian sausage pasta over on the Frugal Flexitarian
Finger licking good!
Thanks!
Thank you for this – it was delicious and so simple! Got back late from work with few ingredients in fridge feeling tired and uninspired and in a few minutes we had a feast. The lemon juice was super in it and worked superbly with the wine and lemon! The is now in my recipe book (I am very selective what I put there)!
Glad you enjoyed it. It’s an excellent way to stretch a couple of sausages into a meal for 2 I think;)
What a great supper recipe. I love the idea of squishing the sausages out of their skins
I’ve made a pasta dish with sausage chilli and tomatoes for years, as I am sure a lot of people have. I DID check on the net before I started and found a few recipes which made me change what I did a little bit this time…One from Jamie Oliversuggested I squish the sausage meat out of the skins (Brilliant! it makes a much more ‘spreadable’ sauce) and adding in some lemon (I had one lying around) rather than balsamic, which I used to use. Personally I do like tomatoes and onion or shallot in this dish – I’ve tried tinned and fresh toms and I’d rather use slightly overripe fresh ones because the tinned ones can be a bit overwhelming. Isn’t that the way recipes evolve? by looking around on the internet and taking the best of what other people are doing and using that to adjust their own version? I know that’s what I do all the time.