Best 4 Tuscan Sausage Ragu Recipes

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Tuscany, a region in central Italy, is renowned for its rustic and flavorful cuisine. One of its most celebrated dishes is Tuscan sausage ragu, a hearty and versatile sauce that can be used to dress pasta, polenta, or crostini. This savory sauce is made with a combination of ground pork, fennel, red wine, and tomatoes, and is often simmered for hours to develop a rich and complex flavor. In this article, we will present two variations of Tuscan sausage ragu: a classic version and a vegetarian version made with lentils. Both recipes are easy to follow and can be tailored to your preferences, making them perfect for a weeknight meal or a special occasion. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting out, these recipes will guide you through the process of creating a delicious and authentic Tuscan sausage ragu.

Let's cook with our recipes!

SAUSAGE RAGù



Sausage Ragù image

Meat sauce is one of the recipes many American home cooks start with. It seems so easy; brown some hamburger, pour in a jar of marinara, and presto! Meat sauce. Not so fast, friends. Made that way, your sauce may be thin-tasting, sour, sweet, or - worst of all - dry and chewy. Meat sauce with deep flavor and succulent texture isn't harder to make; it just needs more time and a low flame. This recipe from the New York chef Sara Jenkins, who grew up in Tuscany and has cooked all over Italy, shows how it's done. Caramelization is involved; dried pasta and canned tomatoes are best practice; and pork, not beef, is the meat of choice. If your sausage meat seems timidly flavored, feel free to add chopped garlic, chile flakes, fennel seed and/or dried herbs like oregano and sage to the meat as it browns.

Provided by Julia Moskin

Categories     dinner, pastas, sauces and gravies, main course

Time 2h

Yield About 3 cups

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 pound sweet Italian sausage or bulk sausage
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 carrot, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, with its juice
1 large sprig fresh thyme
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
3 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 pound tubular dried pasta such as mezzi rigatoni, paccheri or penne
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

Steps:

  • With the tip of a small, sharp knife, slit open the sausage casings. Crumble the meat into a wide, heavy skillet or Dutch oven and set over medium-low heat. If the meat is not rendering enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan as it begins to cook, add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until the meat is frying gently, not steaming. Sauté, breaking up any large chunks, until all the meat has turned opaque (do not let it brown), about 5 minutes.
  • Add onion, carrot, celery and parsley and stir. Drizzle in more oil if the pan seems dry. Cook over very low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have melted in the fat and are beginning to caramelize, and the meat is toasty brown. This may take as long as 40 minutes, but be patient: It is essential to the final flavors.
  • Add tomatoes and their juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands or with the side of a spoon. Bring to a simmer, then add thyme and rosemary and let simmer, uncovered, until thickened and pan is almost dry, 20 to 25 minutes.
  • Mix tomato paste with 1 cup hot water. Add to pan, reduce heat to very low, and continue cooking until the ragù is velvety and dark red, and the top glistens with oil, about 10 minutes more. Remove herb sprigs. Sprinkle black pepper over, stir and taste.
  • Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta until just tender. Scoop out 2 cups cooking water, drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Quickly add a ladleful of ragù, a splash of cooking water, stir well and let cook 1 minute. Taste for doneness. Repeat, adding more cooking water or ragù, or both, until pasta is cooked through and seasoned to your liking.
  • Pour hot pasta water into a large serving bowl to heat it. Pour out the water and pour in the pasta. Top with remaining ragù, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately. Pass grated cheese at the table, if desired.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 276, UnsaturatedFat 7 grams, Carbohydrate 32 grams, Fat 12 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 11 grams, SaturatedFat 3 grams, Sodium 321 milligrams, Sugar 3 grams, TransFat 0 grams

TUSCAN SAUSAGE RAGU



Tuscan Sausage Ragu image

A thick, rich meat sauce excellent with rigatoni, rotelle or any other thick pasta.

Provided by TerryWilson

Categories     Side Dish     Sauces and Condiments Recipes     Sauce Recipes     Pasta Sauce Recipes     Tomato

Time 6h35m

Yield 10

Number Of Ingredients 11

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 pound bulk hot Italian sausage
1 large red onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup dry red wine
1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
salt to taste
1 cup heavy cream

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.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 370 calories, Carbohydrate 11.8 g, Cholesterol 74.9 mg, Fat 28.3 g, Fiber 2.3 g, Protein 14.8 g, SaturatedFat 11.7 g, Sodium 1241.3 mg, Sugar 6.4 g

SAUSAGE RAGU



Sausage ragu image

Feed the family this comforting, budget-friendly sausage ragu with pasta. You can freeze the leftovers for another time and it tastes just as good

Provided by Esther Clark

Categories     Dinner, Main course, Pasta

Time 50m

Number Of Ingredients 12

3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, crushed
¼ tsp chilli flakes
2 rosemary sprigs, leaves finely chopped
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp brown sugar
6 pork sausages
150ml whole milk
1 lemon, zested
350g rigatoni pasta
grated parmesan and ½ small bunch parsley, leaves roughly chopped, to serve

Steps:

  • Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Fry the onion with a pinch of salt for 7 mins. Add the garlic, chilli and rosemary, and cook for 1 min more. Tip in the tomatoes and sugar, and simmer for 20 mins.
  • Heat the remaining oil in a medium frying pan over a medium heat. Squeeze the sausagemeat from the skins and fry, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 5-7 mins until golden. Add to the sauce with the milk and lemon zest, then simmer for a further 5 mins. To freeze, leave to cool completely and transfer to large freezerproof bags.
  • Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Drain and toss with the sauce. Scatter over the parmesan and parsley leaves to serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 589 calories, Fat 18 grams fat, SaturatedFat 5 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 83 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 18 grams sugar, Fiber 8 grams fiber, Protein 19 grams protein, Sodium 0.5 milligram of sodium

SAUSAGE RAGU (COOK'S COUNTRY)



Sausage Ragu (Cook's Country) image

Tastes like it cooked all day at Nonna's house! SO worth the effort, but we do quadruple the recipe each time we make it. It's that popular at our house. For our quick weeknight version of this typically long-cooked dish, CC says, " needed to develop flavor at every stage. After browning 2 pounds of Italian sausage, we added fennel, onion, and fennel seeds that we had finely chopped in the food processor-the fennel and fennel seeds helped amplify the sausage flavor-and cooked them until softened."

Provided by GotsaLuvMe

Categories     European

Time 1h25m

Yield 6 cups, 8 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 13

1/2 fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb cored and chopped coarse
1/2 onion, chopped coarse
1 tablespoon fennel seed
1 (28 ounce) can whole canned tomatoes
2 lbs sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 cup red wine
1 lb pappardelle pasta (or tagliatelle)
1 dash to taste Grated Parmesan cheese
1 dash salt and pepper, to taste

Steps:

  • NOTE: For a spicier sauce, substitute hot Italian sausage for sweet. (I use 1 lb of of each). If using sausage in the casing, remove meat and discard casings prior to processing in step 3. ***You will have 3 cups of EXTRA sauce, which can be used to sauce 1 pound of pasta, later . OR you can cook two pounds of pasta with this entire recipe of sause for a crowd***.
  • INSTRUCTIONS.
  • 1. Pulse fennel, onion, and fennel seeds in food processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed; transfer to separate bowl.
  • 2. Process tomatoes in now-empty processor until smooth, about 10 seconds; transfer to second bowl.
  • 3. Pulse sausage in now-empty processor until finely chopped, about 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  • 4. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with spoon, until all liquid has evaporated and meat begins to sizzle, 10 to 15 minutes.
  • 5. Add fennel mixture and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. (Fond on bottom of pot will be deeply browned.) Add tomato paste, garlic, and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  • 6. Stir in wine, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until nearly evaporated, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup water and pureed tomatoes and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, until thickened, about 45 minutes. (Wooden spoon should leave trail when dragged through sauce.) Season with salt and pepper to taste; cover and keep warm.
  • 7. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot (FOR ONE LB PASTA). Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add 3 cups sauce and 1⁄2 cup reserved cooking water to ONE LB of pasta and toss to combine. Adjust consistency with remaining reserved cooking water as needed. Transfer to serving dish. Drizzle with extra oil, sprinkle with Parmesan, and serve. (Remaining 3 cups sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months).

Nutrition Facts : Calories 447.1, Fat 12.4, SaturatedFat 4.1, Cholesterol 34.1, Sodium 835.1, Carbohydrate 53, Fiber 4, Sugar 4.8, Protein 27.2

Tips:

  • To make sure the sausage is evenly browned, cook it over medium heat and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.
  • If you don't have a meat grinder, you can use ground sausage in this recipe. Just be sure to brown it well before adding it to the sauce.
  • If you want a thicker sauce, simmer it for longer. You can also add a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) to the sauce to thicken it.
  • This sauce is great served over pasta, rice, or polenta. It can also be used as a filling for ravioli or lasagna.
  • You can store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Conclusion:

Tuscan sausage ragu is a delicious, hearty, and versatile dish that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. It's a great way to use up leftover sausage, and it's also a great meal to prepare for a crowd. Whether you serve it over pasta, rice, or polenta, this sauce is sure to be a hit. So next time you're looking for a quick and easy meal, give Tuscan sausage ragu a try. You won't be disappointed.

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