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Rigatoni with ‘embarrassingly simple’ sausage and red wine ragu

Danielle Alvarez
Danielle Alvarez

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Combine all the ragu ingredients in a pot and simmer for an hour.
Combine all the ragu ingredients in a pot and simmer for an hour.William Meppem

I’ve been making this pasta for years. It’s embarrassingly simple: essentially, you just combine all the ragu ingredients in a pot and simmer for an hour – no slicing, dicing or chopping required. Just choose good-quality, Italian-style sausages and trust them to provide all the seasoning you need. All that’s left to do is to toss the cooked rigatoni in the sauce; this meal will taste as if you’ve been working on it all day.

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Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 500g Italian pork sausages, removed from their casings

  • ¼ tsp chilli flakes

  • 500ml chicken stock

  • 1 tbsp tomato paste

  • 400g tomato passata

  • 60ml red wine

  • ½ tsp fennel seeds

  • salt and black pepper

  • 500g dried rigatoni pasta

  • grated parmigiano reggiano, to serve

Method

  1. Step 1

    To make the ragu, combine all the ingredients, except the dried pasta, in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer over medium to high heat.

  2. Step 2

    Place the lid ajar on the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Simmer gently for 1 hour.

  3. Step 3

    Uncover the pot and taste for seasoning; adjust if necessary. Remove from the heat and use a fork or a potato masher to break down the pork sausage. Set aside.

  4. Step 4

    Bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta, according to the package instructions, until al dente. Drain, reserving about 200ml of the cooking water.

  5. Step 5

    Place the sausage ragu back over a medium to high heat and add the drained pasta. Add half the reserved pasta water and stir vigorously. If needed, add a little more water so the sauce coats all the pasta.

  6. Step 6

    Divide into bowls and top with the freshly grated parmigiano reggiano.

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Danielle AlvarezDanielle Alvarez is a chef, recipe writer and host of Good Food Kitchen.

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