Italian Sausage Ragu
Servings 8
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- ¾ lb spicy pork Italian sausage
- 1 tbsp butter
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, minced
- 2 small carrots, peeled & minced
- 1 stalk of celery, minced
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed **A mortar & pestle works great to crush the seeds
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 1 (28 oz) can of whole tomatoes, crushed by hand **Using really good canned tomatoes makes the sauce even tastier!
- ½ cup water
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then add the ground Italian sausage and cook, breaking up the sausage as it cooks, for about 4-5 minutes, or until browned. Remove from the Dutch oven into a bowl, then remove any excess grease from the Dutch oven.
- Add the butter and olive oil to the same Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, then season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the sausage meat back to the Dutch oven along with the garlic and crushed fennel seeds. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Add the wine and cook, stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes. Add the crushed whole tomatoes and juices to the Dutch oven along with ½ cup of water and a sprig of rosemary. Season with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.
- Simmer the ragu for 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Cover with a lid and continue to simmer for 60-75 minutes. Side Note: Add a bit more water if needed.
- Remove the sprig of rosemary before serving. Taste & re-season, if needed.
- Serve with cooked pasta, gnocchi, or lasagna. Enjoy.