Sugo Sunday! Sausage Sauce (Ragù di salsiccia)
Buona domenica! Sundays in Italy usually mean a big family lunch with multiple courses and rich dishes. Solo Sundays for me mean cooking for the week - and this is one sauce I do not get sick of. This sauce is flexible: you can make it with pork or turkey sausage. For serving it, you can pair with pasta (spaghetti, fusilli, rigatoni…), pour over a bed of mashed potatoes or polenta, go low carb and put over a bed of wilted spinach or kale…or in a lasagna. It comes together pretty quickly and is a nice alternative to bolognese when you want to spice things up. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Two Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
320 grams/ 11 oz/ Four small italian style unooked sausages, casings removed (pork or turkey - if you want spicy sausage, do it, its your sauce!)
One medium size onion chopped (around 1 cup chopped)
One carrot chopped (around 1/2 cup)
75 grams chopped fennel (around 1/2 cup)
One big clove garlic, stem removed and minced
20 grams fresh basil leaves (1/2 cup) or One Tablespoon dried basil
120 ml/1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
One can (400 ml/14 oz) diced tomatoes or tomato pulp (I like Pomi or Mutti)
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 Tablespoons grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Directions
Chop all the vegetables and set aside. In a large skillet or pot, heat the following over medium heat: olive oil, carrot, onion and fennel. Let the vegetables sweat while covered for about 3-5 minutes. Uncover and keep stirring until the vegetables start to brown, another 4-7 minutes. When the vegetables start to brown add the wine(or broth) and de-glaze the pan. Let the liquid reduce by half and add the minced garlic, once it is fragrant, after about a minute, add the sausage and break it apart as it cooks in the vegetables with the back of a fork.
When the sausage is fully cooked, add the tomato paste and mix through. then add the canned tomatoes and let the mix simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the cheese, if using, stir and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the fresh basil and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper, if desired. The sauce is now ready to use! Enjoy.