Quattrotini with Sausage Ragu

Place a medium dutch oven or pot over low heat, and crumble in the sausage meat. Cook over low heat to render out the fat, and stir often to break up the meat. Once there is a small slick of fat in the pan, turn the heat up to medium low, and gently saute the meat, just until opaque, not browned. 

Stir in the finely minced onion, carrot and celery, and continue to saute until the onions are translucent, about 3 minutes. Add in the garlic, and stir to combine well. Continue to break down the meat as you stir in the vegetables. 

After the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes, turn the heat up to medium and stir in the tomato paste. Cook another few minutes until the tomato paste has deepened in color to a brick red, then sprinkle in the dried rosemary. Deglaze the pot with red wine, and then let the red wine reduce almost completely before pouring in the strained tomato.

Use 1/2 cup of water to rinse out the container the strained tomato was in and add tomato-y water to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, and bring the sauce up to a simmer. Cook, stirring often, about 30-40 minutes until the sauce has thickened up. 

Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the quattrotini to a minute under al dente, according to package instructions. Before straining, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Fold the cooked pasta and pasta water into the sauce, and bring back up to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until pasta is tender and the sauce sticks to the pasta. Serve with a healthy sprinkling of parmesan.

We love seeing your pasta creations! Share your pasta pics with us on social by tagging @sfoglini and using #sfoglini