Spaghetti with spiced sausage and fennel sauce

Lifestyle Recipes Everyday Spaghetti with spiced sausage and fennel sauce A simple supper for the whole family, using sausage meat and a rich, homemade tomato sauce Save Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Diana Henry Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 1:19pm BST Save Share article Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Gift this article free Gift article Give full access to this article, free time. You have 15 articles left to gift, this month. Log in or Subscribe Copy link X Icon twitter Facebook Icon facebook WhatsApp Icon whatsapp email Add us as preferred source A plate of pasta with a little kick of heat and aniseedy fennel Credit: Haarala Hamilton and Valerie Berry Diana Henry Show biography Diana Henry shares recipes for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. Her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Click here to sign up to receive Diana's Recipes Newsletter – featuring a weekly meal planner – every Saturday.  Published 17 July 2026 1:19pm BST This is easy, quick and a crowd pleaser. My kids love it and they’re pretty picky. Leave out the fennel seeds if you don’t have any. You can use pasta shapes instead of spaghetti. Overview Prep time 5 mins Cook time 50 mins Serves 4 Ingredients 400g spicy Italian sausages 2 tbsp olive oil 1 fennel bulb 1 large onion, finely chopped ½ tsp dried chilli flakes pinch fennel seeds, bashed in a mortar and pestle 2 garlic cloves, crushed 200ml white or red wine  1 x 400g tin cherry tomatoes  2 tsp caster sugar 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 300g spaghetti Grated Parmesan, to serve Method Step Remove the sausage meat from the casings of 400g spicy Italian sausages and form into pieces a bit bigger than a hazelnut in its shell.  Step Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a sauté pan and brown the sausage meat. Remove and set aside. Step Halve 1 bulb of fennel and remove the tough outer leaves. Trim the tips – remove and keep any little fronds – then cut each piece in half again. Discard the core, then finely chop the fennel flesh.  Step Sauté this in the pan along with 1 finely chopped onion until soft. Step Add ½ tsp dried chilli flakes, a pinch of fennel seeds (bashed in a mortar and pestle) and 2 grated garlic cloves, plus any fennel fronds, and cook for another 2 minutes.  Step Add 200ml white or red wine and let it bubble until reduced by half, then add 1 x 400g tin cherry tomatoes and their juice. Step Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down low. Season well, add 2 tsp caster sugar and cook for about 20 minutes.  Step Put the sausage meat back into the pan and cook for another 15 minutes. You may need to add a little water  – you should have a good thick tomato sauce that will coat pasta. Drizzle in 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Step Cook 300g spaghetti in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain (keep a little cooking water to help you incorporate the sauce) and put back into the pan.  Step Reheat the sauce when the pasta is almost ready, then add it to the drained pasta. Step Serve with grated Parmesan. Advertisement More Stories