There’s nothing to beat a meaty pasta dish, a family favourite of the Whitfields of Loxtonia who know a thing or two about soulful food having spent over 30 snow-capped winters on their apple farm in the Ceres Valley.

Loxtonia Cider, Sage & Sausage Pappardelle

Serves 4

Ingredients
500g sausage of choice
1 large onion, diced
200g baby fennel, sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
300ml Loxtonia Pale Amber Cider
125ml cream
1 large bunch fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped
300g pappardelle pasta
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil, for cooking

For the fried sage leaves:
1 large bunch fresh sage leaves
± 60 ml olive oil

Method
Fried sage leaves:
Coat the bottom of a small saucepan or small frying pan with olive oil.
Heat until hot and shimmering. Test one sage leaf to see if the oil is ready - it should sizzle immediately. Fry a few sage leaves at a time until crisp, ± 5 seconds. You do not want them to brown. Transfer with a fork or small sieve to a tray lined with paper towel.
Season generously with salt. Repeat in batches until all sage leaves are fried. Set aside

Pasta:
Heat a light drizzle of olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Slice open and remove the sausages from their casings. Fry the sausages in the hot pan, but do not break them up just yet. Once they have golden brown caramelisation all over, break them up into little pieces. A potato masher does a fantastic job here for speed. Cook until the sausage bits are golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside on a baking tray.

If necessary, add a fresh little drizzle of olive oil to the pan.

Cook the onion, fennel and garlic together with a pinch of salt until tender.

Turn up the heat and add the Loxtonia Pale Amber Cider, cream and chopped sage.

Bring to a simmer. Return the golden brown sausage bits to the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste to adjust seasoning. Switch off the heat so you do not over reduce your sauce.

In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the pappardelle until almost al dente. The pappardelle are finished in the cider sauce, so you want to cook them less. This will ensure the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce, absorbs plenty of flavour and retains some bite.

Using tongs, transfer the pappardelle, shaking off the excess water, straight into the sauté pan of sauce. Switch the heat back on to medium and mix the pasta ribbons into the sauce.

Coat every ribbon in the luxurious sauce, gently mixing as it simmers. Zest over the whole lemon and then squeeze in all the juice. Mix. Season well with salt and a generous amount of black pepper.

Serve the pappardelle in generous mounds with a shower of Parmesan cheese and scatter with crispy fried sage leaves. Crack open a cold Loxtonia Pale Amber Cider on the side and enjoy!

Cook’s tip
Have some fun by trying different sausage options. If choosing a meat protein try a pork or chicken sausage with herbs and spices or chilli. If choosing a vegetarian sausage try a mushroom sausage for deep umami flavour or something new like a Beyond Meat Sausage.

Enrich meaty winter pasta dishes with Loxtonia Cider

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