Hearty, satisfying and easy, this sausage and caramelized shallot ragu with greens just warms your soul and your taste buds!
Life right now is… interesting. I mean life has always been interesting, but lately I’ve been craving routine and longing for the world to go back to “normal” – I am completely tired of the current, let’s call it, “season” we are in and I have completely regressed into the comfort of listing to all the Harry Potter books (Jim Dale does a fantastic job at giving each character their own voice) and re-watching all the movies.
To that effect, I’ve also fallen back to craving all the comfort foods: mashed potatoes, stew, soups, chili, pasta, just ALL THE COMFORT. And so here we have this ultra-tasty, comforting and soul warming sausage and caramelized shallot ragu with greens!
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT This recipe
This recipe answers two needs in my household. One: my love of pasta with sausage and greens (kale, rapini, swiss chard…) think orecchiette with sausage and rapini. Two: my future husband’s love of red sauce.
Other reasons why I love it? It helped me get through a Costco sized package of dry French shallots. It doesn’t take too long to make. It’s a recipe I can turn to when I want meaty pasta but have no meat sauce stocked in the freezer. Basically, there are so many reasons to love it beyond its deliciousness.
WHAT GOES IN SAUSAGE AND CARAMELIZED SHALLOT RAGU WITH GREENS
Shallots. I love the more delicate flavour and sweetness of shallots as opposed to onions. I also like the fact that I find shallots seem to caramelize quicker.
Italian Sausage. Hot or mild is your choice, but I love the heat that comes from a good hot Italian sausage.
Tomato Paste. The almighty flavour bomb of the dish adding more savouriness (hello glutamate!) to the sauce. In fact, the sauce is made up entirely of the juices from the sausage, tomato paste and pasta water!
Kale (or other greens). There is just something so satisfying when fatty sausage is cut by some bitterness – it just rounds out and balances the pallet. Ergo, kale! Yet, I’ve also made this with swiss chard and believe it will also be great with rapini (broccoli rabe) or even broccoli! So don’t fret on the green but it really does add to the dish.
Bucatini (or other pasta). Bucatini at first glance looks like a thicker spaghetti – but it is so much better. Why you ask? Bucatini has a hole through its center, and so the pasta not only gets coated in sauce but also filled with pasta water/sauce causing more deliciousness. But if you don’t have it, might I suggest fusilli, gemelli, rigatoni rigate or penne rigate. Rigate means that the pasta will have striped ridges on it helping the sauce grab onto and coat the pasta; and fusilli/gemelli are good because the sauce and meat can get caught in the folds.
Pasta Water. Yes, the by-product of cooking pasta is a VERY important ingredient in this recipe. It helps loosen up the very thick sauce just enough so that it clings oh so perfectly to the pasta. In case you needed reminding, always save some pasta water before straining pasta just in case it is needed for the sauce.
Bucatini (or other pasta). Bucatini at first glance looks like a thicker spaghetti – but it is so much better. Why, you ask? Bucatini has a hole through its center, and so the pasta not only gets coated in the sauce but also filled with pasta water/sauce causing more deliciousness. But if you don’t have it, might I suggest fusilli, gemelli, rigatoni rigate or penne rigate. Rigate means that the pasta will have striped ridges on it helping the sauce grab onto and coat the pasta, and fusilli/gemelli are good because the sauce and meat can get caught in the folds.
Pasta Water. Yes, the by-product of cooking pasta is a VERY important ingredient in this recipe. It helps loosen up the very thick sauce just enough so that it clings oh so perfectly to the pasta. In case you needed reminding, always save some pasta water before straining pasta just in case it is needed for the sauce.
Recipe notes
Mix and match ingredients. Don’t have shallots? You can use onions. You can use hot or mild sausage. The grocery store didn’t have kale? So, use another green. What I love about Italian cooking is that, yes, there is a recipe, but it’s more of a guideline that you can play around with.
No need to strain pasta. The sauce needs the pasta water to loosen up and coat the pasta. Therefore, picking up the bucatini with tongs and transferring it from the pot to the pan is the best. Plus, one less dish to wash!
SAUSAGE AND CARAMELIZED SHALLOT RAGU WITH GREENS
Hearty, satisfying and easy, this sausage and caramelized shallot ragu with greens just warms your soul and your taste buds!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 large shallots, sliced
- Salt, to taste
- Tube of tomato paste (about 150ml)
- 4-5 Italian sausage links, casings removed (about 400g)
- 225 g bucatini (half of a 450g package)
- 4 cups loosely packed torn kale, stems removed
- Chili flakes and parmesan cheese to serve
INSTRUCTIONS
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In a large, high-sided pan, heat olive oil over medium. Add shallots and salt to taste, saute until the shallots are translucent and golden, about 15 minutes.
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Increase heat to medium-high and add tomato paste. Coat shallots and cook for about 2 minutes to draw out more tomato flavor. Add sausages and cook, breaking up the meat, until cooked about 8 minutes.
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While sausage is cooking, cook pasta in a large pot filled with salted water until al dente, about 1 to 2 minutes less than the package states.
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Once the sausage is cooked, add the kale and toss to coat. Using tongs, transfer the bucatini directly from the pot to the sauce pan and toss to evenly coat the pasta. At this point, you may want to add more pasta water to help coat the pasta and cook it to al dente. Serve with chili flakes and grated parmesan cheese.
RECIPE NOTES
Mix and match ingredients. Don’t have shallots? You can use onions. You can use hot or mild sausage. The grocery store didn’t have kale? So, use another green. What I love about Italian cooking is that, yes, there is a recipe, but it’s more of a guideline that you can play around with.
No need to strain pasta. The sauce needs the pasta water to loosen up and coat the pasta. Therefore, picking up the bucatini with tongs and transferring it from the pot to the pan is the best. Plus, one less dish to wash!
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Tools I Used to make the recipe
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