• 240 g (9 oz) pork sausage with fennel seeds • 150 g (5 oz) mixed mushrooms • 1 carrot • 1 small onion • 1 stalk of celery • 1 tbsp of tomato paste • 1 bay leaf, 2 cloves, 1 small cinnamon stick • black pepper • red wine • olive oil • salt to taste
Chop the carrot, celery and onion in tiny pieces and place them on a saucepan with abundant olive oil. Gently fry for about 15 minutes (if necessary add a tablespoon of hot water); then add the sausage (without the casing) and break it into small pieces by using a big wooden fork or spoon. If you don’t have the sausage, just buy minced pork meat and season it with salt, black pepper and fennel seeds. Let it cook on high flame for about 10 minutes, then add red wine and let it evaporates. Then add the mushrooms and a tablespoon of tomato paste and two/three tablespoons of hot water. Finally, put cloves, bay leaf and cinnamon in a tea infuser (it’s the so called bouquet garni) and place it into the sauce, cover and keep on cooking on a low flame for about 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and adding hot water if necessary. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, then drain it (remember to save a glass of the cooking water in case your sauce is too dry). Place the pasta into the saucepan (add a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan cheese if you like) and mix on a high flame for 2 minutes. Serve!