Frugal January: Creamy sausage and tomato pasta

Here’s a tasty recipe which uses Italian sausage and a hearty amount of pasta to fill you up for less. We’ve also thought about time-saving here, as most of these ingredients come from cans so you can quickly prepare this while making it seem you spent all day in the kitchen. Worried about the creaminess? Swap the heavy cream for light creme fraiche.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4-5 Italian sausages
1 chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato passata
1 cup heavy cream
5-6 big leaves of fresh basil, chopped
500g penne pasta
grated Parmesan for topping

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, according to package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, brown the sausage. Remove the casings, brown, and crumble the sausages like you would ground beef.
3. Add the onions and garlic to the sausage and sauté for a couple of minutes.
4. Pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and the passata and heat through.
5. Pour in the cream. The longer you cook the sauce the thicker it will get so simmer it until it is the consistency you want.
6. Add the fresh basil and let it simmer for a few minutes.
7. Finally, mix the sausage sauce with the pasta and serve. Top each serving with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Serve with crusty garlic bread.

And there you have it! Simple, hearty food to warm you up in this cold January weather. Also good for the students among you who are too busy... "studying"... to cook! Happy eating!