I’m a big fan of slow cooked, rich meaty sauces. I usually just add beef, but hubby and I recently had a pasta sauce that had sausage mixed in with the beef and it was amazingly delicious. After that, hubby challenged me to make my own version, which is close to my usual Ragu sauce. So I picked up some nice Italian sausages to pair with the beef but would ultimately be the star of this delightful sauce. This is one of those sauces that does take a little more time to make, but it is so worth the love you will put into it. This Ragu is cooked long and slow resulting in a rich flavor from the Italian sausage, beef, herbs, tomatoes and wine. What makes it even better is the pasta is tossed in the sauce at the end so every noodle is coated in that glorious sauce.
This Ragu is great for family get togethers…isn’t it so lovely to be able to actually have those get togethers once again…. or for just a sit down meal. If that sit down meal is just you, a fork and a glass of wine, who cares I won’t tell…. treat yourself.
Here’s what you need:
*1 lb pasta; I used spaghetti
*grated parmesan
For the Ragu:
*3 TBS olive oil
*1 large onion, chopped
*3 cloves of garlic, minced
*1 carrot, shredded or finely chopped
*1 lb ground beef
*1/2 lb Italian sausage removed from casings
*1 tsp dried Thyme
*1 tsp. dried rosemary
*1 tsp dried basil
*1 tsp salt
*3 TBS tomato paste
*28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
*1/2 cup red wine; I used Merlot
*1 1/2 cups beef broth
*1 large bay leaf
Heat a large pot to medium high heat and add the olive oil. Add in the onions, garlic and the carrots.
I have found the best way to finely chop the carrots that go into this dish is using my mini food chopper.
You can also shred the carrots if you prefer.
Turn down the heat to medium and cook the onion mixture until soft, stirring frequently so the garlic does not burn.
Remove from the pot and set aside. Turn the heat up to medium high heat once again and add the beef and the sausage. Cook, breaking it up as you go until browned.
Turn down the heat to medium and add Thyme, basil, rosemary and salt.
Stir to mix together and cook for about 1 minute more then add in the tomato paste.
Stir until the tomato paste is incorporated into the beef mixture.
Add the onion mixture back into the pot and stir into the beef mixture.
Slowly pour in the beef broth, wine and the crushed tomatoes. Stir until well combined.
Add in the bay leaf then turn down the heat to a simmer and cook covered for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook pasta according to the package directions. Before draining the pasta, add one ladle full of the pasta water to the sauce and remove the bay leaf.
Cook about 5 more minutes then add in the pasta.
Gently stir the pasta in to the sauce until all of the pasta is coated in the sauce.
I know it looks a little messy, but this looks so tasty that I could just grab a fork, lean in and eat it from the pot.
Garnish with grated parmesan and serve.
A Foodie In The South 