ITALIAN SAUSAGE SAUCE with tomato (ragù di salsiccia)

The sausage sauce is a classic peasant recipe. It is prepared with some variations, in many parts of Italy. As I said, there are many versions: with peppers, or mushrooms, or simply tossed with pasta and a few tablespoon of whipping cream! Today I decided to combine this tasty sauce with a simple tomato puree, used to be presented frequently at my family’s table. The preparation is not difficult, but requires a few precautions. The sausages must be cooked until golden brown, then being dipped into the tomato puree. After that, is mandatory to proceed with a very slow cooking until the meat is extremely soft. The best way to taste the sausage sauce is with a kind of pasta of your choice, in particular fresh pasta, rigatoni or shells.

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• 1 lb (450 gr) Italian sausages
• 2/3 cup tomato puree
• 1 tbsp double concentrate tomato paste
• 2/3 cup yellow onions
• 1 cup carrots
• 1/2 glass red wine
• 4.5 tbsp cooking salt (for 6 qt of water to boil the pasta)

Sausage tufts

Eliminate the sausages skin and separate the meat with by the hands to creating small tufts. Place the tufts of meat in a large pan. Be careful  to do not overlap the pieces of sausages. If necessary, use two pans. Cook the sausage over medium-low heat. The fat meat must melt slowly and the sausage must be cooked in its own fat. When the meat begins to brown, stir-fry: make sure to do not burn yourself with the sketches of fat! Continue cooking until the sausage is golden brown, but not burned. Finally, drain the meat and conserve it covered.

Onions and carrots

Whereas the sausage is cooking, mince finely onions and carrots. Stir-fry the vegetables over medium heat with three tbsp of the liquid fat released from the sausages, until the onions and carrots are soft and translucent. Now, add the double concentrate tomato paste and the meat. Raise the heat to high and add the red wine. Let the alcohol evaporate a few minutes, then pour the tomato puree and low the flame.

Slow cooked sausage sauce

Pour the sausage sauce in a small, and thick-bottomed pot; the sauce should be at least 2 inches deep. Cover the pot with a lid and cook on low heat for at least 2 hours (best if 3 hours), until the meat is tender and the sauce is tasty to the point of not having to use salt.

Try it on with pasta!

The Italian sausage sauce is great to dress fresh pasta, like tagliatelle, pappardelle or fettuccine, but also dried pasta as rigatoni or shells. In this case my choice is shells for their peculiarity to collect the sauce, creating an irresistible combination of flavors!

Crock pot option

When added the tomato puree, is possible to use an electric crock pot to cook the sausage sauce. In this case, be careful to prepare a sufficient amount of sauce correct for the size of your crock pot. Triplicate the cooking time and set the crock pot to medium level.

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RIGATONI WITH RAGÚ BARESE – APULIAN MEAT SAUCE

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