Pork Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni, Kale and Pecorino
This recipe is a pasta to be inhaled. Can pasta be eaten any other way? I think not.
4 servings
To note:
If you don't have fennel sausages or salsiccia tosacana al finocchio such as this DELICIOUS Viani brand I'm using, I would add 1 tsp of ground fennel seeds along with the leek. Same thing applies to mushroom variations →
If you are vegetarian or don't eat pork, substitute the meat with mushrooms! I did something similar to this with hen of the wood mushrooms and it was 😘. Also shitake and/or cremini would be a delicious option. Cook the mushrooms in the same way as the sausage, although you don't need to remove it from the pan. Once you've got a little caramelisation on the mushrooms, lower the heat and add the leek →
Cream can be replaced or partially replaced with creme fraiche or vegan cream.
Leek can be replaced with diced fennel or onion and of course the greens can be substituted with spinach/chard or other types of kale. I've used red russian here.
Pecorino can be replaced with parmesan →
Be mindful with how much salt you add to the ragu. The sausage may be salted already and you will be adding some salted pasta water. When the ragu is on its final cook with cream, add salt to taste.
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Ingredients
Pasta
400g rigatoni/tagliatelle/pappardelle 300g fennel pork sausage (or mushrooms) 1 leek, green tops removed, finely chopped and washed *1 tsp of crushed fennel seeds if sausage is made without 4 large garlic cloves chopped small 200g of kale, stem removed and ripped into smaller pieces 2 tsps finely chopped rosemary 40ml pasta water 100ml dry white wine 300ml single cream 1 tbsp lemon juice salt pepper
To Garnish
pecorino romano black pepper fennel fronds/fennel flowers/dill
Method
Pork Sausage Ragu with Rigatoni, Kale & Pecorino
Method
Start by taking the sausage meat out of its casing. I use a knife to split the sausage down the middle and then peel off the coat like casing. If you are struggling you can also use a small knife to scrape the meat from the skin.
Get a pan, big enough to contain the ragu and pasta, on a medium to high heat with a glug of olive oil. Add the sausage meat to the pan and use a wooden spoon to break it up into smaller pieces. It is okay if it isn't completely uniform. Once the meat starts to get some colour but isn't fully cooked, remove it and set it aside but keep the fat and oil in the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and add the leeks, stirring regularly to ensure they do not caramelise. After 10 minutes add the garlic, rosemary and kale. Cook until the leeks are translucent and and kale has softened. Add the sausage back in to the pan. Add the white wine and reduce by half, followed by the cream and reduce by half again. At this point turn off the heat and taste the ragu for seasoning. Add a little salt (the pasta water will be salty), a few cracks of black pepper and a little lemon juice.
Bring a pot of salted water to the boil. Taste the water to check it is literally sal-ty! Once the water comes to the boil, add the pasta of choice and check the packaging for the cooking time necessary. I will always set my timer for two minutes less than the instructions on the packaging. While the pasta is cooking get out the pecorino and grater and pick the dill or fennel fronds for garnish. Prepare a colander to strain the pasta. When your early timer goes off, set another for two minutes, warm the ragu again and add the 40mls of starchy pasta water to the pan. I will always reserve a cup of pasta water for later also incase the ragu dries out too much.
Add the strained pasta to the ragu on a low heat and stir/ toss for a minute or two until the sauce is silky and coating the pasta. If it looks like the pasta is sitting in a soupy ragu sauce, turn the heat up and allow the sauce to reduce a little and cling to the pasta. Opposite scenario; if the ragu seems dry or the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the reserved pasta water.
Spoon the pasta into bowls with a grating of pecorino, a crack of black pepper and some fennel or dill fronds. Buon appetito!
