Easy Italian Sausage Ragu - Rich and Rustic

 

When I was growing up my mother used to make what she called "Italian Spaghetti" once a week, every week. It was one of my father's favorite meals. I have to say it was not one of our favorite meals. My sister and I tended to eat just the spaghetti plain, with butter and cheese.

Mom's secret recipe was to brown a pound of ground beef in a skillet and dump in a tin of Catelli spaghetti sauce. That was her "Italian Spaghetti."  Unless you were Italian, I am guessing that was every mother's special spaghetti sauce!

 

One recipe that every cook should have in their repertoire is a good Italian Sausage Ragu recipe.  What we are talking about here is a delicious, rich and meaty sauce that goes well with pasta, but which will also stand deliciously on its own. Simple ingredients put together in a simple way to create one of the tastiest sauces on the planet.

All you need other than that is time, patience, and a good pasta to serve it with! OH, and some garlic bread.  Something tasty to sop up all the extra sauce in your bowl.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE A REALLY GOOD ITALIAN SAUSAGE RAGU

There is nothing too out of the ordinary here. Simple ingredients put together in the most delicious way. If you buy the very best quality that you can afford, you cannot go wrong.

• 1 pound Italian sausage, skinned and crumbled
• 1 medium carrot peeled
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 small white onion, peeled
• 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 TBS fennel seed
• 1 large sprig rosemary
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dark soft brown sugar
• 3 1/2 fluid ounces (100ml) good red wine
• 2 (/14 1/2 oz/400g) tins plum tomatoes in tomato sauce, undrained
• 7 fluid ounces (200m)l water (7 fluid ounces)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite cooked pasta, to serve
• Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

 

My sister and I make our own Italian Sausage mix and freeze it in one-pound lots. We have been doing this for several years now. It is a sweet Italian sausage. You can use Sweet Italian Sausage, or Spicy Italian Sausage. It is your choice.

Use a good Balsamic vinegar. I doesn't have to be the most expensive one, but neither should it be the cheapest.  You want one with a good flavor.

Use a wine that you would also enjoy drinking.  

The quality of tomatoes that you use is very important in this recipe. Use only the very best. I prefer Italian tomatoes as they have an excellent flavor. Make sure they are canned in tomato juice for the best flavor.

 

IL SOFFRITTO

This is a vegetable mixture of finely chopped celery, carrot and onion, sauteed in olive oil, and is the base of many fine sauces, adding a special depth of flavor that cannot be obtained in any other way. You cannot rush a soffritto. 

It is also an ingredient that can be made in advance. Many professional kitchens keep this mixture on hand at all times to use in making gravies and sauces.

 

HOW TO MAKE ITALIAN SAUSAGE RAGU

Simple sauces like this delicious ragu are not all that difficult to make. A few simple steps and a bit of patience is all that it takes. The key is to cook the vegetables on a medium low heat so that they soften gently and release all of their flavors without catching or burning.

1. Finely chop the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan with a heavy bottom. Crumble in the sausage and cook, stirring to break it up even more with a wooden spoon as it browns. Stir in the vegetables.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 8 to 10 minutes at which time they should be softened and the pan a bit deglazed.
4. Add the red wine and let it bubble up and reduce. Stir in the fennel seed, rosemary sprig, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, plum tomatoes and water.
5. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Simmer for 45 to 50 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
7. Cook your favorite pasta according to package directions and serve hot with the sauce ladled over top and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

 

HOW TO COOK PASTA PERFECTLY EVERY TIME

Here are my hints and tips for cooking perfect pasta each when you cook it. Whether you are cooking it to serve as a base for a delicious sauce or to add to a fantabulous casserole, this information is sure to come in handy and insure pasta perfection each and every time. 

1. No matter what you may read, don't put any oil in your water or on your pasta. Adding oil to the water or to your cooked pasta will cause your sauce to slip right off. 
2. Use plenty of cold, fresh, heavily salted water, in a large pot. This ensures that once it comes to the boil you will have plenty of room for the noodles to move about freely, enabling it to cook properly and preventing it from sticking together. The basic rule of thumb is to use three liters (3 gallons) of water to every 250g of pasta (1pound). 
3. Use plenty of salt. Your water needs to "taste like the sea" in order for the flavor to permeate the pasta. Three liters of water will require at least 1 TBS of fine sea salt. 
4. Make sure your water has come to a rolling rapid boil before you add your pasta. Don't ever be tempted to add it before this happens. If you add your pasta too soon, it is likely to end up soggy and badly cooked. 
5. Drop your pasta into the boiling water and then stir it immediately. This will prevent it from sticking together, or to the sides or bottoms of your saucepan. 
6. Follow the package directions. All brands and varieties of pasta will have a recommended cook time printed on the packaging, both for regular or al dente (firm, but tender to the tooth, my preferred). 
7. Different types of pasta will take different cook times. One size does not fit all when it comes to pasta. Save some of the cooking water. Just use a ladle and measure out some of it. This comes in handy when saucing up your pasta. 
8. Always have your sauce ready before you begin to cook your pasta. Cooking the pasta should be the last thing you do. 
9. Drain your pasta well, rinse and then drain again, using very hot water. Don't let it sit and get all dry. You should use it as soon as possible after this step. 
10. Add your pasta to the sauce, not the other way around. 
11.  Add some pasta water to the sauce. Adding a touch of pasta water to your sauce when you add the pasta will help the sauce to stick better to the pasta. It also adds some richness and flavor as well as helping to bring a split sauce back together. 

 

MORE EASY PASTA RECIPES TO TRY

PASTA E PISLLI - Simple ingredients put together in a simple way.  Pasta, peas, water and cheese. It doesn't get any simpler or easier than this. You wouldn't think that simple things like this could come together in such a delicious way, but like magic, they do!  I love this.

LEMON & GREEN OLIVE PASTA -A simple and winning combination. It always amazes me when a few simple ingredients come together in an unbelievably delicious way. If you love the flavours of lemon and good green olives you are going to adore this simple pasta dish. Incredibly tasty and very special.  

  

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Yield: Four servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Italian Sausage Ragu

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 65 MinTotal time: 1 H & 20 M

Rich and packed with flavour. Serve with your favourite pasta for a real treat.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Italian sausage, skinned and crumbled
• 1 medium carrot peeled
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 small white onion, peeled
• 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 TBS fennel seed
• 1 large sprig rosemary
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp dark soft brown sugar
• 3 1/2 fluid ounces (100ml) good red wine
• 2 (/14 1/2 oz/400g) tins plum tomatoes in tomato sauce, undrained
• 7 fluid ounces (200m)l water (7 fluid ounces)
• salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite cooked pasta, to serve
• Grated Parmesan cheese, to serve

Instructions

1. Finely chop the carrot, celery, onion and garlic. Set aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan with a heavy bottom. Crumble in the sausage and cook, stirring to break it up even more with a wooden spoon as it browns. Stir in the vegetables.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a further 8 to 10 minutes at which time they should be softened and the pan a bit deglazed.
4. Add the red wine and let it bubble up and reduce. Stir in the fennel seed, rosemary sprig, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, plum tomatoes and water.
5. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Simmer for 45 to 50 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning as required.
7. Cook your favorite pasta according to package directions and serve hot with the sauce ladled over top and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

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