Pasta - Sausage/pancetta/tomatoes/fennel

A nice complete pasta dish. The fresh taste of fennel, the fatty from the sausages and the salty from the pancetta all together with the herbs combine perfectly. And ready in no time!!

Ingredients for 4 persons :

• 1 whole fennel, chopped roughly into fine parts
• 5-6 chipolata sausages ( small sausages, try to find the ones that have plenty of herbs), chop them in small bits
• 100gr. of pancetta
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 finely chopped garlic clove
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomatoe puree
• a handfull of cherry tomatoes, chopped in half
• a handfull of chopped fresh sage
• a tbsp.of dried oregano
• some olive oil
• a splash of  balsamic vinegar
• Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat up some olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped panceta and let it bake slightly crispy. Then add the sausages and let them brown firmly on all sides.

Take the pancetta and sausages out of the pan,keep aside-add some more olive oil if needed- and add the onions and garlic and fry them for a minute or 2.

Throw in the chopped fennel with the chopped sage, let it feel the heat for 2 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar and  let it cook out while you scrape the bottom of the pan.

Add the can of tomatoes together with the tomatoe puree and the oregano. Season with pepper and salt, bring to a slight boil and let it cook/reduce while you boil the pasta, +/- 8-10 minutes.

When the pasta is al dente you can add it to the sauce together with a few spoons of the pasta water.

Tear up some basil leaves, add it to the pan and stirr well.

Serve in a deep pasta dish with some grated parmesan on top and.....

Enjoy,

Kev

Sugo al ragu is one of these Italian dishes/sauces I need to have once a month, in fact it might even be my favourite sauce. The Italians have many different versions and I like them all but the base is allmost every time the same: a good sofrito...a mixture of chopped carrots and celery fried in olive oil, meat, tomatoes (not too much normally, usually more meat than tomatoes).

My version is with minced meat.

Ingredients:

• +/- 800gr. of minced, seasoned meat. Half pork/half veal. This is quite a lot but I like my sauce meaty
• 750ml of good passata
• one onion, 2 garlic cloves, one red chillie. All chopped finely
• Some finely chopped carrots and celery. About 2 carrots for 1 celery. This is the sofrito
• a glass of red wine. Don't use that Chateau Petrus from your wine cellar but don't pour in vinegar neither! A good cheap wine will do
• Some chopped smoked bacon +/- 50gr.
• 2 bayleaves, about 4 leaves of sage, couple sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Chop up the sage and rosemary
• a tbsp.of tomato paste
• 1 tbsp of dried oregano
• 4-5 drops of worcestershire sauce
• some chicken stock

Heat up a drop of olive oil in a large pan and brown the bacon. Don't use too much oil cause the bacon will release some fat also. Let it fry until it starts to get brown and crispy and then add  the sofrito -carrots and celery -. Add a drop of EEVO if too dry and let this fry for about 10mins but don't let it burn. Throw in the sage, rosemary and thyme and let it release it's aroma's. Your kitchen will be smelling heavenly by now. 

  Pour in a couple of drops of red wine; just enough to deglace the pan and cook out the wine.

Throw in the onions, chillie and garlic and fruit these for a minute.

Now add the minced meat, turn up the fire and use a fork to squash the meat. Avoid any big lumps of meat. 

When all the meat is browned you can add the passata, worcestershire sauce and 2 bay leaves. Mix well and pour in the rest of the red wine.

Put on a low fire, the lowest you got and let this simmer for a bout 1½-2 hours. Stir regulary and add some chicken stock if it gets too dry. After an hour or 2 you'll get a nice dry but still moist sauce. You can let this rest over night, it will only get better!

Serve with the pasta of your choice and enjoy!

Kev