Italian Sausage & Mushroom Ragu with Pappardelle

Italian Sausage & Mushroom Ragu with Pappardelle

Pasta & Noodles
Main Dish

Serves 4-6

This rich and flavorful sauce tastes like it takes much longer to make.

Ingredients #

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 lb “baby bella” mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and chopped (cut them into quarters and then use a food processor to chop them up, or chop by hand)
  • 2 large shallots or 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb bulk Italian sausage (sweet or hot, to your own taste)
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 1 1/2 chicken broth
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • A pinch of crushed red pepper (optional)
  • 1 14 1/2 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 lb dried pappardelle or tagliatelle pasta
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions #

In a Dutch oven over medium-high, heat the butter and oil until the foam subsides. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until the mixture sizzles and the garlic is fragrant. Add the mushrooms and shallots and cook, stirring, until the mushrooms release their liquid and the shallots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and cook, stirring and breaking the meat up into small pieces, until the sausage is no longer pink and just beginning to brown, about 8-15 minutes. If excessive fat has accumulated, discard as much as you can.

Cook until the mushroom liquid is almost gone. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring, until the wine is almost completely evaporated. Stir in the broth, cinnamon, the optional crushed red pepper, and 3/4 tsp black pepper. Continue to simmer until the broth has reduced by half, 5-6 minutes. Reduce to medium heat, stir in the tomatoes, and simmer until thickened, 5-10 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed. Cover and set aside.

While the sauce simmers, bring 4 quarts of water and 2 tbsp salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and add it to the Dutch oven with the ragu. Use tongs to toss the pasta to coat – if needed, add a few tbsp of the reserved cooking water to thin the sauce to coat the pasta.