Fusilli with Lamb Sausage Ragout

I told you about my delicious lamb sausages from Metzger Meats.  Well, I decided to use the remaining sausages in a pasta dish in place of ground lamb and it turned out great.  

Here's what you need for this quick, easy, flavourful dish.  

1 lb raw lamb sausage or ground lamb
1 bottle passata or strained tomatoes
1 box whole wheat or vegetable fusilli or rotini
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
2 small zucchini
fresh mint
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or ricotta (optional)

First, sauté the onions, garlic and Italian seasoning in 1 tbsp oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until beginning to soften.

Slit the casing on your sausage.

Remove the casing and add the sausage meat to the onion pan.

Crumble the meat with a wooden spoon and brown about 3 minutes.

Dice the zucchini and add it to the lamb, 

Sauté for about 2 minutes, then add the passata.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes until thickened.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

I like to use this spatter screen over my tomato sauce to avoid a mess.  You can get them in the dollar store and they are great for avoiding spatters.

Meanwhile add your pasta to a pot of salted boiling water and cook according to package directions.  If you put it in when you add the tomato sauce, it should all be done about the same time. 

Drain your pasta.

And add it to the sauce, tossing to coat.

Chop some mint.

Scoop your pasta into the serving dish.

Drizzle with Greek yogurt or top with ricotta and sprinkle with mint.

I make spaghetti with sausage and tomato sauce all the time, but here the lamb sausage and mint gave it a very different flavour that was really tasty.  If you have lamb sausage or ground lamb on hand, give this one a try!