Best 20 Sausage Ragù Recipes

ITALIAN RAGU WITH MEATBALLS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large sauce pot (8-quart size minimum), heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil on a very low flame. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until it has turned translucent. Do not brown the onion, but allow it to almost melt away. Add the garlic cloves and very lightly cook them in the oil until golden before adding the tomatoes and all their juices. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the basil leaves and set the heat on low. Allow the tomatoes to cook at very low heat for at least 2 hours before adding the meat.
• Make the meatballs: mix the ground beef and veal together in a large bowl. Combine the bread and milk and mash together to form a paste; add the bread to the ground meat. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and combine all the ingredients using your fingers to mix uniformly, but do not over mix or the meat will dry out when cooked. Pick up 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball shape, between the palms of your hands. Do this until you have used all the meat. This should yield approximately 24 meatballs.
• Place the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat over medium flame. Add the meatballs in 1 layer and brown on all sides before removing. Do this to the remaining meatballs until all are browned to a caramelized color. After all the meatballs have been browned and removed from the skillet, add the sausage links and brown well, following the same method as the meatballs. When all the meat has cooked, add to the tomato ragu, which has been cooking for 2 hours and cook an additional hour. Serve the tomato ragu over rigatoni pasta cooked to manufacturer's directions. Serve the meats on another plate as a second course.

SAUSAGE-AND-PEPPER RAGU OVER POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high; melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pierce sausages with a fork; add to skillet. Cook until browned in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Meanwhile, cut vegetables into 1/2-inch slices; add to skillet. Season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until browned in places, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Return sausages to skillet with 3/4 cup broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes. Uncover; simmer until slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes more.
• In a saucepan, combine polenta, 2 cups broth, and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter and cheese; season with salt and pepper. Serve, with ragu, parsley, and more cheese and pepper.

TUSCAN SAUSAGE RAGU

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the sweet and hot Italian sausage until browned, about 10 minutes. Break the meat up into crumbles as it cooks. Stir in the onion, celery, and garlic; cook and stir until the onion is translucent, about 8 more minutes. Pour the mixture into a slow cooker. Pour red wine into the skillet, and stir to dissolve the brown flavor bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the wine into the slow cooker. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and salt to taste. Mix well.
• Cover the slow cooker, set to Low, and cook for 5 hours. Pour in the cream, stir, cover, and cook for 1 more hour. Adjust salt again if necessary, and serve.

BAKED ZITI WITH SPICY PORK AND SAUSAGE RAGù

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to bowl. Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add half of pork to drippings in pot; sauté until brown, about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with pancetta. Repeat with remaining pork. Add sausage to same pot. Sauté until no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onions, carrots, celery, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low; sauté until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add pancetta and pork with any accumulated juices; boil 2 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice. Cover and cook until pork is very tender, adjusting heat as needed to maintain gentle simmer and stirring occasionally, about 2 hours.
• Uncover pot; tilt to 1 side and spoon off fat from surface of ragù. Gently press pork pieces with back of fork to break up meat coarsely. Season ragù to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over low heat before continuing.)
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish or other 4-quart baking dish. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; mix into ragù. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper; transfer to prepared dish. Sprinkle both cheeses over. Bake until heated through and golden, about 20 minutes.
• *Pancetta (Italian bacon cured in salt) is available at Italian markets and in the refrigerated deli case of many supermarkets.

ITALIAN TOMATO SAUSAGE RAGU WITH PENNE

Steps:

• In a large skillet heat oil over medium heat.
• Add in the sausage meat, garlic, oregano and pepper flakes; sauté until brown, breaking up the meat with a fork (about 7 minutes).
• Add in finely chopped carrots, onion and celery; sauté for about 10 minutes.
• Mix in chopped tomatoes; reduce heat, cover and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add in 1 cup broth and wine; simmer uncovered until liquid is slightly reduced (about 20 minutes).
• Add in the fresh basil; cover and simmer until the veggies are very tender, stirring occasionally.
• Continue to simmer for about 45-50 minutes, adding in more broth by about 1/4 cup if the liquid evaporates to quickly, and cook until the Ragu thickens to desired consistency.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until just firm-tender; drain but reserve about 1/2 cup cooking water.
• Return the pasta to the pot; add in the Ragu; mix to combine.
• Add in about 1/2 - 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 2-3 tablespoons olive oil; mix to combine.
• If the mixture seems too dry then add in some of the reserved cooking water from the pasta.
• Season with more salt and pepper.
• Divide on plates and top with more cheese.

BEEF SHANK AND SAUSAGE RAGù WITH WHOLE GRAIN SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• For ragù:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast fennel seeds in small dry skillet over medium-low heat until slightly darker in color and very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large oven-proof pot over medium heat. Add sausage. Cook until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to large bowl.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to pot. Sprinkle beef shanks with salt and pepper. Add to pot and sauté until brown, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer shanks to bowl with sausage. Add onions to pot and sauté until brown and tender, scraping up browned bits, about 10 minutes. Return shanks, sausage, and any accumulated juices to pot. Add tomatoes with juice, wine, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, crushed red pepper, and toasted fennel seeds. Bring to simmer.
• Cover pot and place in oven. Braise until shanks are very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Transfer shanks to work surface. Cut meat off bones and dice. Discard bones. Tilt pot. Spoon off fat from surface of pan juices. Return diced shank meat to pot. Simmer until liquid is reduced enough to coat spoon, about 10 minutes. Season ragù to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, before continuing.
• For pasta:
• Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain pasta; transfer to large bowl. Add oil and toss to coat. Add cheese and parsley; toss to coat. Season pasta with salt and pepper.
• Divide pasta among 12 shallow bowls. Ladle ragù over and serve.

RAGU DI SALSICCE E FUNGHI PORCINI (SAUSAGE AND WILD MUSHROOM SAUCE)

Steps:

• In a wide skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil. Gently saute sausages until thoroughly cooked and browned. Remove sausages and set aside.
• Meanwhile, chop together garlic, onion, celery and carrot to make a battuto. When sausages are done, add battuto to the pan and saute gently until vegetables are soft.
• While vegetables are cooking, place mushrooms in a bowl and add hot water to cover. Set aside to soak for at least 20 minutes.
• Drain tomatoes, reserving juice. Add tomatoes to vegetables in saucepan; raise heat and cook rapidly, breaking up tomatoes with a fork. Add rosemary or thyme, turn down heat and cook gently 20 to 30 minutes, until tomato sauce thickens. If necessary, add a little reserved juice to keep sauce from sticking.
• Remove mushrooms from the bowl, but do not discard the soaking water. Rinse mushrooms under running water from tap; chop coarsely and add to tomato sauce. Strain the soaking water through a fine-mesh sieve or a paper coffee filter directly into the sauce. Mix well. Taste sauce and add salt, if necessary, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
• Slice sausages into 1/2-inch slices and add to the sauce, mixing well. Just before serving, remove rosemary sprig, if used. Serve over hot polenta mush or toasted or sauteed polenta slices.

CHICKEN AND ANDOUILLE SAUSAGE RAGù

Steps:

• Place chicken thighs, skin side down, on work surface. Using sharp knife, cut each thigh lengthwise along each side of bone, forming 2 pieces of meat (some meat may remain on bones); reserve bones.
• Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken and bones with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sauté in pot until brown, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to bowl. Add sausage to pot and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with chicken. Add carrots and onions to pot and sauté until onions are tender and golden, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup marjoram, garlic, lemon peel, and crushed red pepper; sauté 2 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juices and broth; bring to boil. Add chicken, bones, sausage, and any accumulated juices from bowl. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 35 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken and sausage to bowl; discard bones. Boil liquid in pot until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup marjoram. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Return chicken and sausage to pot. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.) Spoon ragù over Campanelle Pasta with Parsley Butter.

SPICY SAUSAGE RAGU NACHOS WITH PICKLED ONIONS

Steps:

• Make the ragu: Put the garlic, celery, onions and fennel in a food processor and puree to make a coarse paste. Coat a wide, deep pan with the olive oil and put over medium-high heat. Add the pureed veggies and season with salt; cook until all the liquid has evaporated and the veggies begin to stick to the pan-you want to brown the crap out of these guys until crud starts to form on the bottom of the pan. Stir occasionally to scrape up the browned bits, then let the crud form again. Be patient here and don't rush it: This is where the big flavor develops; it will take up to 30 minutes.
• When the lovely brown crud has formed and been scraped down a couple of times, stir in the tomato paste. Let it start to brown a little, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. There's not much liquid at this point to keep things from burning, so move fast: Add the wine, stir to combine and scrape up any remaining browned bits. Cook until about half of the wine has evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. (This is where another round of big flavor is formed, so take your time.)
• Add enough water to cover the meat by about 1/2 inch. Stir to combine well, then add the bay leaves and thyme bundle. Taste, season with salt and taste again; it's by no means done, but it should taste good. Bring the sauce to a boil (BTB) and reduce to a simmer (RTS). Continue cooking for 3 hours, tasting, seasoning and adding more water as needed. Discard the bay leaves and thyme.
• Meanwhile, make the pickled onions: Combine the vinegar, 1/2 cup cold water, the sugar, 1 tablespoon salt and the hot sauce in a bowl. Add the sliced onion and let sit, at least 1 hour. Drain.
• Assemble the nachos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread a layer of tortilla chips on an ovenproof platter. Top with a layer of the ragu and cover with the parmigiano and fontina cheeses. Bake until the cheeses melt, 5 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the chopped chipotle, adobo sauce and mascarpone in a bowl. Sprinkle the arugula over the nachos and finish with dollops of the chipotle mascarpone and the pickled onions. A gooey cheesy treat. Delish.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE RICE BALLS WITH MARINARA SAUCE #RAGU

Steps:

• Sauté onion over medium heat with olive oil in a large sauce pan for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add sweet potatoes, tomato paste, garlic, basil and oregano. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes on low heat until sweet potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally.
• Place mixture in a large mixing bowl to let cool. When cool, add sausage, ¾ cup of the breadcrumbs, cheese, rice, and egg. Mix very well with hands.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a baking sheet.
• With hands, form into golf ball size pieces and coat them in the remaining breadcrumbs. Place rice balls on baking sheet.
• Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
• Warm marinara sauce and drizzle over rice balls.
• Garnish with grated parmesan cheese.

CREAMY PARMESAN POLENTA AND SAUSAGE MUSHROOM RAGU

Steps:

• 1. In a small bowl, combine sliced mushrooms in 1 cup water. Let sit 8-10 minutes, until mushrooms are supple. Drain reserving liquid.
• 2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp butter to pan. Add sausage to pan crumble and saute 3 minutes or until browned. Remove sausage from pan and drain off fat.
• 3. In a large skillet, melt 2 tbsp's butter over medium heat. Add onion, and and garlic, saute 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Add mushrooms, reserved liquid and soy sauce. Sauté, 3-5 minutes, until liquid is evaporated and mushrooms begin to brown. Stir in sausage, wine and tomato sauce, bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tomato sauce has reduced. Mix beef stock, cornstarch and sugar together and add to mushroom mixture. Stirring well, bring to a boil, and simmer 2-3 minutes. Stir in fresh herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• 4. Cook Polenta while cooking sausageAdd the water to a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the 2 teaspoons of salt and gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the butter, and stir until melted. Stir in the Parmesan and incorporate well. This will slightly thicken the polenta. Add the cream and 1 teaspoon of black pepper and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated. Taste the polenta, and add a little more salt and a little ground black pepper, if necessary.

CHEF JOHN'S PENNE PASTA WITH SPICY SAUSAGE RAGU

Steps:

• Cook sausage and parsley until done, pour in wine and cook until reduced but not burned, stir in marinara, water and cream. Simmer for 1hr. Combine with cooked pasta and serve with cheese.

MOM'S SUNDAY DINNER: ITALIAN RAGU WITH MEATBALLS AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE

Steps:

• 1. In a large sauce pot (8-quart size minimum), heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil on a very low flame. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until it has turned translucent. Do not brown the onion, but allow it to almost melt away. Add the garlic cloves and very lightly cook them in the oil until golden before adding the tomatoes and all their juices. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the basil leaves and set the heat on low. Allow the tomatoes to cook at very low heat for at least 2 hours before adding the meat.
• 2. Make the meatballs: mix the ground beef and veal together in a large bowl. Combine the bread and milk and mash together to form a paste; add the bread to the ground meat. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and combine all the ingredients using your fingers to mix uniformly, but do not over mix or the meat will dry out when cooked. Pick up 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball shape, between the palms of your hands. Do this until you have used all the meat. This should yield approximately 24 meatballs.
• 3. Place the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat over medium flame. Add the meatballs in 1 layer and brown on all sides before removing. Do this to the remaining meatballs until all are browned to a caramelized color. After all the meatballs have been browned and removed from the skillet, add the sausage links and brown well, following the same method as the meatballs. When all the meat has cooked, add to the tomato ragu, which has been cooking for 2 hours and cook an additional hour. Serve the tomato ragu over rigatoni pasta cooked to directions on box. Serve the meats on another plate as a second course or with the pasta. (We always couldn't wait til the second course!)
• 4. NOTE: If using plum tomatoes, make sure using a wooden spoon while cooking, you break up the tomatoes. You can also freeze this in batches and use when needed.
• 5. You can make this sauce your own by adding what herbs you like. Oregano or Basil, All Beef Meatballs if you prefer. My mom did all the combinations. MANGIA!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND BEEF RAGU RECIPE - (4/5)

Steps:

• Heat 1½ tbsp oil over high heat in a large heavy based pot. Add the beef and sausage. Cook, breaking it up as you go, until browned. Use a slotted spoon to remove into a bowl. Heat remaining 1½ tbsp oil in the pot and reduce heat to medium low. Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Saute gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add cooked meat back into the pot along with the remaining Ragu ingredients. Turn heat up and mix to combine. Bring to simmer, then turn the heat down so it is bubbling gently (refer to the video, at 50 seconds). Cover and cook for 2½ hours, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat and remove the lid. The amount of liquid reduces as it cools, you will be surprised, so don't be tempted to return it to the stove without the lid! :) SLOW COOKER: At step 3, transfer everything into a slow cooker and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, and cook the last 30 minutes or so with the lid off the reduce. To Serve Bring a very large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add pasta and cook until just al dente - cooked but still quite firm (I usually go for 2 minutes less than cook time per packet). Meanwhile, heat a large, deep fry pan over medium high heat. Add about 2½ cups of ragu, bring to simmer. Use tongs to transfer pasta straight from the pot to the fry pan PLUS ½ cup of pasta cooking water. Toss gently (I use 2 wooden spatulas) for 1 minute or until the sauce reduces, by which time the sauce will thicken, be glossy, and stick to the pasta. Serve immediately, garnished with Parmigiano-Reggiano if using! NOTES 1. The Italian pork sausages are key to the incredible flavour and richness in this recipe. So please don't think of substituting this with the cheap BBQ sausages (the ones that are an even pink colour), please make sure you get chunky Italian sausages. By "chunky", I mean the sausages where you can see chunks of white fat in the sausages so you know it's made with real meat, not with fillers (like the cheap sausages are). Italian sausages are loaded with fab seasonings. The classic usually has fennel in it, but you can use any Italian sausages you want. I used Chili & Garlic ones once and they were fab! 2. The onion, carrot and celery is a holy trinity referred to as Soffitto. Use a 2:1:1 ratio i.e. The amount of carrots and celery should each be ½ the amount of onion. Or put another way, when you combine the carrots and celery, it should be about the same amount as the onion. 3. My personal opinion for slow cooked dishes like this where wine is not the star ingredient is that you don't need to use an expensive one. Any deep coloured red wine will be fine, just don't use a pinot or rose. I used a Merlot. All the alcohol cooks out so it is perfectly safe for kids so I really urge you to stick to the recipe if you can. But if you can't consume alcohol, you can substitute with non alcoholic red wine or (next best substitute) more beef stock. 4. Better quality (i.e.: more expensive) canned tomatoes tend to be sweeter. So if you feel the sauce is a bit sour, just add a bit of sugar (white or brown), 1 tsp at a time until the sauce is to your taste. 5. As a rule of thumb: 2.5oz/80g dried pasta per person + ¾ cup of ragu per person. To make this for 1 to 3 people, use ½ cup of pasta cooking water, for 4 to 5 people, use ¾ cup. 6. This makes loads. :-) Enough for 8 to 10 people, and it freezes brilliantly. Once it cools, it would also be fabulous to use for lasagna!

PASTA IN PINK SAUCE WITH SAUSAGE #RAGU

Steps:

• In a large pot, start your water and dash of salt boiling for your pasta.
• In a separate non-stick pot, On medium/high heat add your olive oil, butter, and sausage links. Remove when done and set aside.
• On medium heat, add chopped onion. Cook until clear. Put pasta into boiling water.
• Add 1/2 & 1/2, tapenade, & all 3 cheeses. Stir until cheeses melt and sauce it smooth.
• Turn heat down to low and add Ragu sauce. Stir until sauce is pink and smooth.
• Slice sausage links into pieces and add to sauce. Continue to stir sauce until pasta is done.
• When pasta is done, drain and place in large bowl. Pour pink sauce with sausage over top. Serve hot.

POLENTA & SAUSAGE STUFFED PEPPER GONDOLAS #RAGU

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F and place a pot with a gallon of water on high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the water and cover.
• Cut the four lobed green pepper in half through the stem to the base and carefully remove the seeds to protect the integrity of the pepper. Use a paring knife or scissors to remove the stem. rub a teaspoon of olive oil and italian seasoning on the pepper halves inside and out and place open side down on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tender-crisp.
• While the pepper is cooking, heat 2 cups of chicken broth to boiling in a saucepan. Add the polenta and whisk in until smooth. Stir in the crumbled feta and set aside.
• Preheat a grill or grill pan to hot and grill sausages until done. Slice sausages on a bias.
• Remove tender-crisp peppers from the oven, turn over and fill halfway with polenta mixture. Top the polenta with sausages and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Place back into oven until cheese is melted.
• Heat Ragu pasta sauce and ladle some onto two plates. "Float" pepper gondolas onto the Ragu sauce.
• Place long fusilli 200 pasta into boiling water, uncovered until al dente, 8 to 11 minutes. Strain and place on plate. ladles on some Ragu pasta sauce and top with pecorino romano cheese. Serve with a side salad if desired.

SAUSAGE STUFFED RAGU MUSHROOMS #RAGU

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400?.
• Clean mushrooms and remove stems. Finely chop the mushroom stems. Set mushrooms caps aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter. Add chopped mushroom stems, chopped onion, and garlic. Cook until almost all the liquid is evaporated. Cool.
• In a large bowl, combine the mushroom mixture, sausage, egg, bread crumbs, salt, goat cheese, parmesan, and Ragu. Mix well.
• Stuff mushrooms generously with sausage mixture.
• Bake in a greased baking pan. Bake at 400? for 30-35 minutes or until sausage is no longer pink. Serve hot. Yield 12-15 servings.

CHEESE TORTELLINI WITH SAUSAGE RAGU RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium high and brown sausage, using a wooden spoon to crumble the sausage as it browns. To the cooked sausage, add the wine and oregano, cook until wine reduces to 1/4 cup. Add marinara sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Let sauce begin to come to a boil and turn down to a slow simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add cream, basil and parmesan cheese, and stir to incorporate. While sauce is nearing the last 10 minutes, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the tortellini and cook 7 - 9 minutes until tender, stirring occaisionally. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Serve with extra grated parmesan if desired.

LASAGNE WITH SAUSAGE RAGU & GARLIC KALE

Steps:

• Bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the kale and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh in cold water. Drain again and squeeze out excess water with your hands. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Add the kale, season with salt and pepper, stir to combine and set aside. Sausage ragu: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, fennel seed and chili flakes, season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the pureed tomato and tomato paste, over with a splatter screen or lid and cook for 15 minutes. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Add the sausage meat and cook for 5 minutes or until browned. Don't break the meat up too much as you want to keep it quite chunky. Add to the tomato mixture and cook for 3-4 minutes or until thickened slightly. Set aside. Bechamel: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir continuously with a whisk for 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes slightly coloured. Pour in the milk and whisk quickly until there are no lumps. Continue whisking for another 5 minutes or until the bechamel thickens. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. To assemble the lasagna, spread a little ragu over the base of a 36X36X7 capacity baking dish. Cover with a layer of lasagna sheets. Spread over one-third each of the bechamel, then ragu, kale. taleggio and Parmesan. Repeat 2 more times, finishing with a layer of Parmesan. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden. Remove and stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle over parsley to serve.

SPICY SAUSAGE RAGU

Steps:

• Cook sausage in a Dutch oven over medium heat until browned, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in parsley and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Stir in white wine and cook until the wine has nearly evaporated, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Stir in heavy cream, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir in marinara sauce and water and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for 1 hour.
• Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Stir in penne, and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, but still firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain.
• Combine pasta and sauce; remove from heat, cover and let sit for about 2 minutes.
• Serve pasta and sauce topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.