Sausage Ragu

Posted 2013-10-13 by Maddy Butler ⇒ follow

This sausage ragu is rich and hearty. While it is time consuming, it is pretty easy to make and most of the time the pot can be left on the stovetop to simmer away.

Feel free to use canned tomatoes (1 can should do) instead of fresh, however, I find that the taste of fresh tomatoes is much better.

The sauce can be left in the fridge for a few days. Simply reheat on the stove, and add a little water if you'd like to simmer it for a while more.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: at least 75 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients
1 large brown onion
2-3 anchovies, drained, rinsed and chopped (optional)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
400g organic beef sausages
5 large ripe tomatoes
1/2 bunch English spinach
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine (or use stock or more water)
Handful fresh oregano leaves
Salt and pepper

Method

Prepare some of the ingredients. Dice the onion and finely chop or mince the garlic.

To remove the sausages from their casings, make a long incision on the side of the sausage with a sharp knife.

Pull away the casing with your fingers. It should come off quite easily.

Roughly chop the sausage meat.

Heat the oil in a frypan over moderate-high heat. Add the onion to the pan for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and anchovies for a few minutes, then the sausage meat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the meat is browned.

While the meat is cooking, roughly chop the tomatoes.

Add to the pot with the water, wine and oregano and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes. Leave out the half cup of water if you don't want to cook the sauce for too long; add more if you want to cook the sauce for longer.