Sausage Ragu Recipe

Prepare vegetables

Finely dice the onion, carrot and celery so they total about 3 cups combined. Mince the garlic and set aside.

Brown the sausage

Heat a large heavy-based sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbs olive oil. Add the sausage meat (remove casings) and break it up with a wooden spoon. Brown the sausage thoroughly, cooking until there is no pink and some golden color appears, about 6–8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer browned sausage to a bowl, leaving rendered fat in the pan.

Sweat the soffritto

Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter to the pan. Add the diced onion, carrot and celery. Season lightly with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, about 6–8 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook 30–60 seconds until aromatic.

Build the tomato base

Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1–2 minutes to caramelize and deepen flavor. If using, pour in the white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up browned bits; simmer until the wine is mostly reduced, about 2–3 minutes.

Add tomatoes and simmer

Return the browned sausage to the pan. Pour in the Mutti passata and the stock. Add the bay leaf, oregano, thyme, sugar, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a gentle simmer.

Long gentle simmer

Lower heat to maintain a low simmer, partially cover and cook at the barest simmer for 45–60 minutes, stirring every 10–15 minutes. If the sauce becomes too thick, add up to 1/2 cup reserved stock or water. Taste and adjust seasoning toward the end of cooking.

Finish ragu

Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in the lemon zest (if using) and chopped parsley. Taste and correct seasoning with additional salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to make the pepper note prominent.

Add cheese to ragu (optional)

If you prefer a richer, slightly creamy ragu, stir in half the grated Sussex Charmer off the heat until melted into the sauce, reserving the remainder for serving.

Cook the pasta

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.

Bring together

Add the drained pasta to the ragu in the pan (or add ragu to the pasta pot). Toss over low heat, adding reserved pasta water a little at a time to loosen and coat the pasta, until al dente and sauce clings to the noodles, about 2 minutes.

Plate and finish

Divide pasta among 4 plates. Sprinkle the remaining grated Sussex Charmer over each portion, finish with extra chopped parsley and a generous grind of black pepper. Serve immediately.