Description
A rich and hearty sausage ragu served with tender pappardelle pasta. This slow-cooked Italian classic combines pork and beef sausages with aromatic vegetables, fennel seeds, red wine, and crushed tomatoes to create a deeply flavorful sauce perfect for a comforting meal.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Sausage Ragu
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 2 celery stalks, grated
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 350g / 12 oz pork sausages, meat removed from casings
- 350g / 12 oz beef sausages, meat removed from casings
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup pinot noir red wine (or 0% alcohol red wine / more chicken stock)
- 1 cup low sodium chicken stock/broth
- 400g / 14 oz can crushed tomato
- 3 thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
- 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried)
- 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
To Serve
- 500g / 1 lb pappardelle pasta (about 80g/2.8oz per serving)
- Parmesan or Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated
- Fresh parsley, finely chopped (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) to prepare for slow cooking the ragu.
- Make Soffrito: Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based pot over medium heat. Add finely chopped onion, minced garlic, grated carrot, grated celery, and fennel seeds. Cook gently for about 8 minutes until the carrot softens and becomes sweet but without browning.
- Cook Sausage: Increase heat to high and add the sausage meat. Break it up as much as possible while cooking. The sausage won’t crumble like ground meat but keep breaking it apart during cooking until it is no longer pink.
- Deglaze and Build Flavor: Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the red wine and let it simmer rapidly for about 2 minutes until reduced by half, scraping the pot bottom to release browned bits.
- First Slow Cook (1 hr): Add the chicken stock, crushed tomatoes, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, salt, black pepper, and optional chili flakes. Stir well, bring to a gentle simmer, cover with the lid, and place the pot in the preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour to develop deep flavors.
- Second Slow Cook (45 min): Remove the pot from the oven. Use a potato masher to break down the meat further into a finer texture. Replace the lid and return the pot to the oven for another 45 minutes. The sauce should thicken considerably during this time.
- Adjust Seasoning: Taste the ragu and add more salt if needed, noting that sausage saltiness varies.
- Cook Pasta: Prepare the pappardelle in boiling salted water according to package instructions. Just before draining, reserve 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water.
- Toss Pasta with Sauce: Return the ragu pot to medium heat on the stove. Add the drained pasta into the pot with 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water. Toss using two spatulas to coat the pasta strands thoroughly with the ragu. Add more reserved water as needed to loosen the sauce.
- Serve: Dish the pasta and sauce into pre-warmed bowls. Sprinkle finely grated Parmesan and a pinch of parsley on top if desired. Serve immediately to enjoy hot.
Notes
- Note 1: Grating the carrot and celery helps them blend into the sauce, creating a smooth soffrito base.
- Note 2: Removing sausage meat from casings before cooking helps incorporate it evenly in the ragu.
- Note 3: Pappardelle is ideal for holding the chunky ragu sauce, but other wide pasta can work as well.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/5th of recipe (about 250g cooked pasta with sauce)
- Calories: 520 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 420 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 27 g
- Cholesterol: 75 mg
