Rigatoni with fennel sausage sauce

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large lidded saute pan. Add the sausage pieces and fry over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden-brown all over, then lift onto a plate. Add the onion and fennel to the hot pan and fry for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and caramelised, splashing in a little more oil if the pan dries out. Stir in the paprika, garlic and half the fennel seeds and fry for two minutes more, then pour in the wine and boil for 30 seconds to reduce it by half. Add the tomatoes, sugar, 100ml water, the seared sausage and half a teaspoon of salt, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, taking the lid off after 10 minutes, until the sauce is thick and rich. Off the heat, stir through the olives and the rest of the fennel seeds, then set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the pasta and cook for 12 to 14 minutes (or as the packet says), until al dente. Meanwhile, reheat the sauce. Drain the pasta, return it to the pot, stir in a tablespoon of oil, then divide between bowls.
3. For the pesto, put everything except the basil into the small bowl of a food processor with a tablespoon of water and blitz to a rough paste, then add the basil and pulse until just combined. It's better left a little coarse than overworked.
4. Spoon the ragu over the pasta and top with a spoonful of pesto. Scatter over a few chopped fennel fronds, if you have them, and serve straight away.

Tips from the ZestyPlate Kitchen

• Take the time to brown the sausage well first, as that's where much of the depth comes from.
• Cook the onion and fennel slowly until they caramelise and turn naturally sweet.
• Toast and crush the fennel seeds so they give up their full fragrance.
• Hold back a little pasta water to loosen the sauce so it coats every piece of rigatoni.