A very comforting recipe, it's a pasta in a tomato sauce but with a little twist : sausage instead of ground beef for a delicious result. It's a bit like a bolognaise sauce but kinda different.

I like pasta when they're in a nice coating sauce, not too thin, that just coats the pasta and makes the dish delicious and feels indulgent. I used mezzi rigatoni here, their shape are perfect because of all the little stripes, the sauce sticks so well.

The wine is optional here but it really adds a layer of flavour. I used a little bit of Côte du Rhône I had from the night before. You know what they say, don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink or it won't be good. This is the perfect recipe to use up your leftover red wine.

Since it's not fresh tomatoes season anymore, I used canned tomatoes. They're picked at their peak ripeness so they're yummy and this way you don't buy tomatoes coming from 5k miles away in the middle on Winter. Canned goods are great !

Here's a nice recipe that might save you on a week night where you're not very inspired. And if you don't know what to do with your sausage meat, here's an idea. It's so good and it's been a hit at home !

Sausage and tomato sauce rigatoni (serves 4 to 5) :

• 500 g rigatoni pasta
• 400 g sausage meat
• 400 g canned chopped tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 carrot
• 4 garlic cloves
• 200 g tomato sauce
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• 3 fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 5 cl red wine
• Fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

Mince the onion, carrot and garlic.

Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pot.

Brown the sausage meat, breaking it into tiny pieces with a wooden spoon.

Once it's browned, add the carrot, onion and garlic. Let it cook for a few minutes.

Add thyme, bay leaf, fennel and oregano. Mix well.

Deglaze the pot with red wine and scrape all the good browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce. Mix and add a generous amount of ground pepper.

Cover and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes, an hour is much better.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions for an al dente pasta.

Take the lid off and let the sauce thickens for 10 minutes.

Add the pasta into the sauce and mix well to coat the pasta in sauce. Serve immediately with a mountain of parmesan cheese and a bit of chopped fresh parsley.