Pappardelle con Salsicca

From Sandra at http://120dollarsfoodchallenge.com/2014/01/20/day-8-pappardelle-con-salsiccia/

Ingredients

• 600g (about 4 very large) well-flavoured sausages such as pork and fennel, or bratwurst
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 30g butter
• 1 large leek, white part only, washed and trimmed into 1 cm slices
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 2 tablespoon (50g) tomato paste
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 500g fresh pappardelle OR 350g dried fettuccine
• parmesan, to serve

Method

1. Peel the skins from the sausages and set the meat to one side.
2. Heat olive oil and butter in a heavy based saucepan over medium heat. Add the leek and garlic and sauté for 4 minutes until the leek is golden and soft.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, an additional 2 cups (500ml) water, tomato paste, salt, pepper, sugar and parsley to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low. Crumble the sausage meat into the sauce and use a wooden spoon to break it up into pea-sized pieces.
4. Cook the sauce, uncovered, for 1 hour until the sauce is reduced by half and has thickened. Remove from the heat and keep covered with a lid while you cook the pasta.
5. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the pasta. Cook for 5 minutes for fresh pasta or 8 minutes for dried fettuccine until al dente.
6. Use tongs to remove the pasta from the water and add it to the sauce. Toss the pasta until it us thoroughly coated, before piling into bowls.
7. Top with freshly grated parmesan.