Rigatoni With Italian Sausage Ragù And Ricotta

Sunday dinner is pretty predictable in our home, usually it’s a pasta such as rigatoni with Italian sausage ragù with a dollop of ricotta cheese. Pasta tossed with a deeply flavored tomato and sausage meat sauce is a classic Italian American dish and one of my husband’s favorite meals.

My husband grew up in an Italian American family where most Sundays the whole family got together around their large dining room table for platters of pasta, meats and delicious pastries. One of the family favorites was pasta with a sauce known by many as “Sunday gravy or sauce” which was made with meatballs, sausages, braciole, pork or beef ribs, and other chunks of meat.

While my husband and I like to carry on his family traditions, we don’t make Sunday sauce much these days unless it is for a holiday dinner party as it is labor intensive. When we are cooking for just the two of us we often make a thick, flavorful Italian sausage ragú, a meat sauce in Italian, tossed with rigatoni pasta and topped with a dollop of creamy ricotta. This flavorful yet easy to make dish has now become one of our favorite Sunday meals.

Either my husband or I will make a large pot of sausage ragù on a Sunday afternoon that will simmer on the stove for a couple of hours. We then enjoy a bowl of pasta made with some of the ragù Sunday evening and then divide the remainder of the ragù into pint containers to freeze. The meat sauce freezes perfectly and is available for easy weeknight meals whenever we wish. Much like when you make a large pot of soup, chili or stew, it is nice to make enough to freeze for later use.

We like to prepare this thick flavorful meat sauce with imported San Marzano canned tomatoes, savory hot Italian pork sausage, onion and garlic that simmers gently for two hours. We think the ragù is best with a study tubular and ridged pasta like penne and rigatoni as they are great for holding onto the sauce. What makes the dish extra special is when it is the topped with ricotta or whipped basil ricotta.

Italian Sausage Ragù

Recipe serves 8 to 10 or you can divide the meat sauce into containers and freeze until ready to use. See note below.

This recipe makes 2 1/2 quarts of ragu, You can figure you need about 3/4 to 1 cup of sauce per serving of pasta

• 1 lb. Italian sausage, hot or sweet, casings removed and cut into bite size pieces
• olive oil, just enough to coat the bottom of the pot
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 c. red or white wine, optional
• 3 large cans whole San Marzano tomatoes (DOP), crushed by hand
• 1 tsp. dried oregano, more or less
• 1 tsp. dried basil, more or less
• 1 tsp. sugar, if needed
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• garlic powder and onion powder, to taste
• a heaping tsp. veal demi-glace, I use More Than Gourmet, or 1/2 c. beef stock
• 2 Tbsp. torn fresh basil leaves

Heat a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and sausage, cook, breaking up any large clumps, until starting to brown. Add the onions, cook until translucent, adding a little oil if mixture looks dry. Add the garlic, cook a minute more. Add the wine and deglaze the pot. Add tomatoes, seasonings and demi-glaze and stir well. Reduce heat to low, cover with a lid slightly ajar and cook gently, stirring every so often, for about 2 hours until the ragù is velvety and thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Stir in the basil and simmer without the lid for a few minutes more.

Rigatoni With Sausage Ragu Topped with Ricotta

Recipe serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a first course, adjust the recipe accordingly.

• 1 c. reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce
• mezzi rigatoni, Barilla recommends 3/4 cup/2 oz. per person
• 2 c. sausage ragù, see recipe above
• ricotta cheese, 1 Tbsp. more or less per serving of pasta
• chopped basil or parsley for garnish (optional)

Cook the rigatoni according to package directions until just al dente. Retain 1 cup of pasta water and drain the pasta. Meanwhile, heat the ragù. In a large sauté pan over medium heat and add half of the ragù and the pasta then stir. Add some of pasta water, a little at a time, and continue stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is creamy. Serve in shallow bowls, ladle some of the remaining ragù on top, add a dollop of ricotta cheese and a sprinkle of fresh basil or parsley. Extra meat sauce, ricotta and your favorite grated Italian cheese can be served at the table.

While the ragù will taste good after simmering for 30 – 40 minutes, it will be much better if you let it simmer for a couple of hours for the flavors to develop.

We believe imported San Marzano tomatoes with a DOP certificate on the cans are the best tomatoes to use because of their meaty flesh, minimal seeds and sweet flavor.

If you use Italian sausage without fennel, you can add a pinch of fennel seeds for additional flavor..

Taste your meat sauce for seasoning several times while cooking. A little sugar may be needed to balance the acidity.

If the regù isn’t thickening, open the lid more or remove it altogether.

The regù can be refrigerated up to 4 days or frozen for 3 months.

notes from the kitchen

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This delicious sausage ragù is similar to a traditional Bolognese but has more tomatoes and doesn’t have carrots or celery. The long and slow simmer gives the ragù time to develop its complex flavors and thickens the meat sauce. I believe that you will find a little extra time spent simmering on the stovetop will be well worth the wait. I hope some weekend you will prepare this meal, it may become one of your favorites as well.