Creamy Italian Pork Sausage, Broccoli & Fennel Farfalle

Add the farfalle to the boiling water and cook until almost tender, 7 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook until the broccoli is just tender and the pasta is ‘al dente’, 3-4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Return the farfalle and broccoli to the saucepan.

While the pasta is boiling, in a large frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, squeeze the sausage meat out of its casing in small chunks, directly into the pan. You should to get around 10 small meatballs per person. Cook, tossing, until browned all over, 3-4 minutes. TIP: This is a cheat's way of making meatballs without having to roll the meat!

Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic, fennel seeds (1/2 sachet for 2 people / 1 sachet for 4 people) (if using), a pinch of chilli flakes (if using) and the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low and add the cooking cream and the salt. Stir until well combined. Add the baby spinach leaves and cooked farfalle and broccoli and stir until the pasta is well coated and the baby spinach leaves have wilted. Loosen the sauce with a splash of pasta water if needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.