Pasta with sausage and tomato

great all-round, all-weather recipe, as comforting in cold weather as it is in your summer holiday cottage. The ingredients are all easy to come by - sausages, pasta, canned tomatoes - and the little trick about cooking the sausage meat in milk gives the whole thing a gentle sweetness that is very appealing.

Feeds 4

• 6 small pork sausages or 3 large
• 1 small onion, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 6 tbsp milk
• 400 g canned plum tomatoes
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of grated nutmeg
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 500 g penne, rigatoni or similar short tube pasta
• 2 tbsp cream (optional)
• freshly grated parmigiano

1. Slit open the skin of the sausages, and remove the meat, discarding the skins. Finely slice the onion. Heat the olive oil and butter in a frypan and gently cook the onion for 5 or 6 minutes until soft but still white. Pinch the meat into the pan and fry, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it is cooked but not browned.
   
   
2. Add the milk and very gently simmer, stirring, for 5 minutes. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add them, with their juices, to the meat. Add the sugar, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
   
3. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until it is al dente, tender but still firm to the bite. Add the cream to the sauce, and stir through, gently heating it through. Drain the pasta, toss well and serve with grated parmigiano.