Sausage, Sage and Butternut Rigatoni

Meanwhile, pick the sage leaves from their stalks and roughly chop (discard the stalks).

When the butternut is halfway through cooking, remove from the oven. Sprinkle over the chopped sage and toss to coat.

Break up the sausage meat into roughly 6-7 chunks per person and nestle them within the diced butternut. IMPORTANT: Wash your hands and equipment after handling raw meat.

Return the baking dish to the top shelf until the meat is browned on the outside and cooked through, 10-15 mins. IMPORTANT: The sausage chunks are cooked when no longer pink in the middle.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with ½ tsp salt.

When boiling, add the rigatoni to the water and bring back to the boil. Cook until tender, 12 mins.

Once cooked, drain in a colander and pop back in the pan. Drizzle with oil and stir through to stop it sticking together.

Once the butternut and sausage have finished roasting, return the pan with the cooked pasta to medium heat.

Stir in the creme fraiche, chicken stock paste and water for the sauce (see pantry for amount). Bring to the boil and simmer until piping hot, 1 min. Remove from the heat. 

Stir the hard Italian style cheese, roasted butternut, sausage and sage through the pasta. Mix vigorously until completely combined and the sauce has thickened. 

Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Add a splash of water if the sauce is looking a little too thick.