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The Story
Sausages are fantastic; what more is there to say? They’re a self-contained, considered balance of meat, fat, and spice. I can relate. And they’re versatile: as perfect slow-cooked in a stew or sauce as they are grilled and rolled up in a slice of white bread. Think of this deliberately uncomplicated pasta sauce as a celebration of the sausage-maker and their hard work. Or at least a really quick way to make a very flavourful ragu. Squeeze it out, fry it up, and add some tomatoes!
A modest but tasty pasta like our casarecce goes perfectly with this sort of hearty sauce, but you can serve it with pretty much anything that takes your fancy. Snowed under, of course, with a generous amount of cheese.
The Sauce
Whilst the beauty of this sauce is in its delicious sausagey shortcut, so too is its potential undoing. So choose your sausage wisely! Sometimes I’ll recreate those sausage flavours by freshly grinding some mince and mixing it with an assortment of things like sage, fennel seeds, thyme, rosemary, paprika, and garlic powder. But it’s not quite the same, and obviously defeats the time efficiency and matured flavour aspects of using sausages in the first place. I absolutely love those thin, firm Italian sausages, but this time went for something a little juicier. Make friends with your butcher and get adventurous!
Start off by frying up rough chunks of sausage meat. The messier the better! Unpredictable, jagged edges and crispy little peaks will give the sauce a fantastic texture.
Once you’ve added in all of your other ingredients, bring it to the boil and transfer the pot to the oven, uncovered. I find that this gives the sauce a real flavour boost, particularly if you don’t have enough time to slowly cook it down on the stove. Even after only 20 minutes, you’ll see a mouth-watering glossiness develop on the surface as the oil begins to separate.
And if you’d like to make an even richer sauce using this method, simply increase the water component and cook it for longer in the oven. If you do so, you might want to check and adjust the water levels every now and then, giving it a stir at the same time. Partially cover it to draw that cooking time out even further.
Then it’s just a matter of boiling up your pasta; this time around, we made casarecce! Remember to retain some of the cooking water, as you might find it useful in emulsifying the sauce as you stir the pasta through it. Plate it up, and don’t forget a heap of cheese and a crack of pepper!
Happy cooking, pasta lovers!
– Al & Al.
PS. Remember, you can read all about us and our pasta story here!
Equipment
- Enamelled cast iron pot (or large regular pot)
Ingredients
- 400 g lean Italian sausages
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 5-6 large leaves sage
- 1 onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 400 ml tinned diced tomatoes
- 400 ml tinned cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
- Peel and roughly crush the garlic cloves under the side of a wide knife, and dice the onion. Gently fry both in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large enamelled cast iron pot, on medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir regularly and don't allow to brown.
- Add the chilli flakes, rosemary, fennel, and sage into the pan, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Squeeze the sausage meat out of the casings and crumble or break into small pieces. Raise the heat to medium-high, and add to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5-10 minutes, until meat has browned with a few crispy bits here and there.
- Add the diced and cherry tomatoes, with the sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and lower the heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, and allowing the sauce to reduce.
- Transfer the pot to the oven for a further 20 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick or dry, add a little water.
- If you're looking for the perfect pasta to pair with our sausage ragu, try our bread flour casarecce! Boil it in a large pot of lightly salted water until al dente, and then drain before stirring into the sauce.
