Slow Cooked Sausage & Lentil Ragu

Ingredients

• 600 g Italian-style pork sausages, skins removed
• 200 g dried Puy lentils, rinsed
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 3 carrots, finely diced
• 1.5 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 medium onions, finely diced
• 0.5 tsp chilli flakes
• 200 ml red wine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 10 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 2 bay leaves
• parmesan, grated, to serve
• Crusty ciabatta, to serve

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-based casserole over a medium-high heat. Add the fennel seeds and toast for 30 seconds until they start to pop and turn fragrant — that bloom is what makes the base taste of fennel rather than dust.
2. Squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins in rough chunks and season generously with salt and pepper before it hits the pan. Brown in two batches — crowd it all in at once and water comes out, the pan cools, and you've stewed the meat instead of browning it. Fry each batch for 8–10 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until very well browned with lots of caramelised edges. Lift out and set aside, leaving the fond stuck to the base of the pan.
3. Drop the heat to medium and add the onions, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened and the onions are turning golden at the edges and lifting the brown stuck bits off the base.
4. Add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for just 30–60 seconds until fragrant and pale gold — don't let the garlic burn or the whole ragu turns bitter.
5. Return the sausage and any resting juices to the pan. Pour in the red wine and let it bubble vigorously for 3–4 minutes, scraping the base, until reduced by half and the sharp alcohol smell has cooked off.
6. Stir in the tomato purée and cook for 1 minute, pressing it against the base so it darkens from bright red to brick — that's the raw tin taste cooking out. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, balsamic and bay leaves. The stock is doing real work here: it breaks the tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit rather than heated tin.
7. Add both lentils, stir, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover, drop the heat to low, and cook for 35 minutes, stirring every so often so the lentils don't catch on the base.
8. Lift the lid and simmer uncovered for a further 15–20 minutes until the Puy lentils are tender with a slight bite and the sauce is glossy, coating the back of a spoon. Fish out the bay leaves. Taste, season, taste again — a generous twist of black pepper, more salt if it needs it. Adjust now, not at the table.
9. Meanwhile, cook the pappardelle in well-salted water — it should taste like the sea, this is your only chance to season the pasta itself. Drain at al dente, reserving a mugful of the starchy water.
10. Toss the pasta through the ragu with a splash of that water to loosen into a sauce that clings. Pile into warm bowls, scatter over the torn basil, shower with finely grated parmesan and finish with a thread of good olive oil over the top.