Proper blokes' sausage fusilli

Jamie describes this as 'blokey, gutsy yet simple'. Hmm. Blokey in food terms tends to imply meaty and hearty, beef stew rather than Caesar salad. I must admit that as the cold and dark nights draw in, I become increasingly attracted to what might be called blokey food - casseroles, chilli, lasagne, the kind of food that warms your soul as it soothes your stomach. Jamie also says that 'girls tend to like this as well'. Good. I am not one for sexual difference in cooking - I'm not the person who says 'just a salad' when everyone around me is eating lamb shanks or fish pie.

Anyway I liked the look of this because one of my winter favourite pasta dishes, courtesy of Jill Dupleix in an old edition of Delicious magazine, involves fusilli, sausage, fennel and chilli, just like Jamie's recipe. But where Jill uses tomatoes and red wine, Jamie uses white wine and lemon zest and juice. It was tempting to try it and taste the difference (to borrow a certain supermarket chain's somewhat annoying slogan). So I did. The problem was, hubby was still sneezing away and I have begun to feel exhausted, as though my body is fighting off his nasty cold with all its strength. I always feel like cooking but I didn't tonight. Nonetheless, I did. I made the sausage fusilli as planned, albeit with penne not fusilli since Jamie said it was substitutable and I had no fusilli to hand.

And it was very nice. But not more than that. I wonder if I didnt brown the sausage meat enough-mine looks anaemic compared to his. Or perhaps Italian sausage might taste better here than Cumberland (he suggests both options). Or maybe the meagre amount of parsley I had (remember its space was invaded by our resourceful mint plant) wasn't enough. Or maybe my cold has begun. Certainly it was tasty - good sausage, wine, chilli, pasta, lemon, oregano, Parmesan and butter tends to be. And I would make it again. But I wouldn't make it every week; I think I prefer the tomatoey hit of Jill's red version. Maybe though Jamie is right and to borrow the words of the Yorkie advert, this recipe is just not for girls! I will have to ask hubby, as a 'proper bloke', what he thinks...