Rigatoni With Sunday Sauce Recipe

Prepare aromatics and meats

Heat a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When shimmering, add diced pancetta and cook until translucent and lightly browned, about 4–5 minutes. Add sliced or whole Italian sausage: if whole, brown on all sides (about 6 minutes) then remove and set aside; if sliced, cook until browned and set aside with pancetta.

Sweat vegetables

To the same pot, add chopped onion, grated carrot, and chopped celery. Cook over medium-low heat until softened and translucent, about 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add minced garlic and cook 30–45 seconds until fragrant.

Deglaze and combine

Turn heat to medium-high and add the red wine to deglaze, scraping up brown bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce by half, about 3–4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1–2 minutes to caramelize slightly.

Add tomatoes and seasonings

Add the crushed tomatoes, stock, torn basil leaves (reserve a few for garnish), dried oregano, red pepper flakes, sugar (if using), 1.5 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir to combine. If you browned whole sausages earlier, nestle them into the sauce now. Bring sauce to a gentle simmer.

Simmer low and slow

Reduce heat to low so the sauce maintains a gentle simmer. Partially cover the pot and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. For a richer flavor, simmer 2–3 hours; add a splash of stock or water if sauce reduces too much. If you used whole sausages, remove them after 20–30 minutes, slice into pieces, and return to the sauce for the final 10–15 minutes so they cook through and absorb flavor.

Adjust seasoning

Taste the sauce and adjust salt, pepper, and sugar as needed. Remove and discard large basil stems. If you prefer a smoother sauce, use an immersion blender briefly to reach desired texture, or leave chunky.

Mix meatball ingredients

In a bowl, combine ground beef, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, grated parmesan, minced garlic, chopped parsley, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix gently with your hands until just combined; avoid overmixing to keep meatballs tender.

Form and brown

Shape mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs (about 20–24). Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown meatballs in batches until golden on all sides but not fully cooked through, about 6–8 minutes total per batch, turning carefully. Transfer browned meatballs to the simmering sauce to finish cooking for 25–30 minutes.

Finish in sauce

Allow meatballs to cook gently in the sauce until cooked through and tender. This integrates their flavor into the Sunday Sauce.

Cook rigatoni

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add rigatoni and cook until just shy of al dente according to package time (usually 1–2 minutes less than recommended), about 9–11 minutes. Reserve 1 to 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.

Combine pasta and sauce

Add the drained rigatoni to the sauce pot (off heat or on very low). Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1/2 cup grated parmesan. Toss gently to coat, adding reserved pasta water a few tablespoons at a time to loosen the sauce and help it cling to the rigatoni. Cook together 1–2 minutes so the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce and absorbs flavor.

Serve

Portion rigatoni into bowls. Top with additional sauce, sliced sausages and/or meatballs if using, sprinkle with more grated parmesan, and garnish with torn fresh basil leaves. Serve immediately.