Sausage Pasta and Yummy Dessert

Two great recipes here from last night from the two most recognizable chefs in Britain: Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver. The pasta dish from Jamie Oliver was an *overwhelming* success and didn't take a whole lot to throw together. We had originally planned on this pasta for leftovers, but we (and a lucky guest) finished off the pot. I can't recommend this one enough.

The dessert was similarly easy and had an equal payoff. Again, just a few ingredients and not a lot of fuss in putting them together. I hope you try and enjoy them. As a side note, the cookbooks these recipes came from (Cook with Jamie and Gordon Ramsay's Fast Food) are two of the best cookbooks I own in terms of having recipes that are both simple and really delicious. They are worth a look.

Proper Blokes' Sausage Fusilli

2-½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 red chili, dried, crushed
olive oil
600 g sausages, Italian and/or Cumberland (good-quality)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
200 milliliters white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
500 g fusilli pasta, dried
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
40 g butter, (a few knobs)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
½ cup parsley, fresh, leaves only, chopped

Bash up the fennel seeds and chilies in a pestle and mortar (or spice grinder) until coarsely crushed, then put to one side. Heat a splash of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins and put into the pan, really breaking it up using the back of the spoon. Fry for a few minutes until the meat starts to color and the fat has rendered slightly, then crush it once more so that it resembles coarse mince (ground meat). Add the bashed-up fennel seeds and cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until the meat becomes crisp, golden brown and slightly caramelized.

Stir in your oregano, then pour in the white wine and allow it to reduce by half. Add the lemon zest and juice. Turn the heat down to low while you cook your pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water. When the pasta has cooked to al dente, drain it in a colander, reserving some of the cooking water, and toss the pasta in with your sausage mixture. Coat the pasta in all the lovely flavors then add the butter, Parmesan and chopped parsley, and a few spoonfuls of the reserved pasta cooking water. This will give you a lovely loose, shiny sauce. Taste and check for seasoning, then serve immediately with a little extra grated Parmesan over the top. Serve with a Valpolicella Classico.

Banana Mousse with Butterscotch Ripple

100 g light brown sugar
40 g butter
550 milliliters whipping cream
4 bananas, chilled in freezer for 1-2 hours
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon dark chocolate, grated

Put the sugar, butter and 150ml of the cream in a saucepan over medium heat and stir continuously until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Let bubble for a minute or two, stirring frequently, then remove from the heat and leave the sauce to cool completely.

Pour the remaining cream into a blender. Peel and chop the bananas and add to the blender along with a squeeze of lemon juice. Whiz until smooth, thick and creamy.

Spoon a little sauce around the sides of four glasses, smudging some of it for an attractive effect. Divide the banana mousse among the glasses and top with more butterscotch. Use a small teaspoon the ripple the butterscotch through the mousse. Grate over a little dark chocolate and chill until ready to serve.