Sausage and Pepper "Bolognese", An Italian American Ragu

Italian sausage

🥗Healthier: chicken sausage

💰Cheaper: ground beef

Chicken sausage is lower in fat, while ground beef is often less expensive.

red wine

🥗Healthier: grape juice

💰Cheaper: beef broth

Grape juice provides sweetness without alcohol, while beef broth adds depth.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: pecorino cheese

Nutritional yeast offers a cheesy flavor without dairy, while pecorino is often cheaper.

Cut the cheeks off of the red bell peppers around the core, leaving the seeds and core behind.

Add the peppers to a sheet tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then place them under the broiler to char the skin.

Once charred, remove the peppers from the oven, cover them, and allow them to steam for 15 minutes.

Slice the onion into thin strips, using two small onions instead of one large one.

Slice a couple of cloves of garlic thinly.

After 15 minutes, scrape off the charred skins of the peppers and slice them thinly.

Heat a frying pan on medium-high heat and coat the bottom with olive oil.

Add the sliced onions to the pan, sprinkle with salt, and sauté until softened.

Add the roasted red peppers to the pan and cook until both the onions and peppers are soft enough to blend smoothly, adding more salt as needed.

Add the sliced garlic and cook for another minute or two until softened.

Stir in 1 tablespoon of chopped calabrian chilies and cook for another minute or two.

Add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to the vegetables and mix well, allowing it to cook through for depth of flavor.

Turn off the heat and deglaze the pan with a little vodka, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom.

Slowly add heavy cream, mixing until the sauce reaches a nice pink rosy color, then blend until smooth.

Remove the casing from 1.5 pounds of hot Italian sausage and add the sausage to the pan.

Use more vodka to deglaze the sausage and tie the sauce together.

Cook the pasta shape of your choice, preferably a large rigatoni or similar shape, to pair with the meat sauce.

In a large sauté pan with high rims, add the sausage on high heat with olive oil to start cooking and releasing fat.

Use a flat-bottom wooden spoon to break up the sausage into uniform pieces as it cooks, allowing moisture to evaporate before browning.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens