Pasta, Pasta, past-ahhh!
Do you like pasta? I like pasta, and spaghetti and meatballs is one of my all time favorite meals- not only to make but to eat. I’m not a girl who shies away from a big bowl of pasta. Ever. And I love making my own red Sauce, in fact I can’t even remember the last time I bought a jar of it at the store.
The leftovers aren’t to shabby either. Reheated with side of white wine and a few episodes of Luther on Netflix = my kind of night.
This recipe is actually rather fun to prepare, so gather all of your ingredients and get going.
Into a food processor, add the onion, carrots and celery. <—- a.k.a a soffritto.
Pulse until finely chopped.
Also chop a couple cloves of fresh garlic.
Drizzle some olive oil in a deep-sided, 12-inch skillet and heat over medium-high heat.
While the pan is preheating, cut the sausage links into 1 inch pieces.
Work in batches, searing the sausage pieces in the hot oil.
…until deeply golden.
Transfer to a bowl and set off to the side.
Reduce the heat under the pan and add in the garlic and Cook for 1 Minute.
Add in the vegetables and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Once the vegetables have softened, stir in 1-1/2 teaspoons basil, 1-1/2 teaspoons of oregano and a teaspoon of Italian seasoning. You can find the recipe for my homemade Italian seasoning (plus 5 more!) in my cookbook!
Next, add in 6 ounces of tomato paste.
Stir and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the tomato paste starts to caramelize…
…and stick to the bottom of the pan.
Pour in 1/4 cup of dry red wine…
3/4 cups of water…
…and stir while scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in 3/4 teaspoon of sugar to offset the acidity of the tomato products.
Then add in 1 large can of crushed fire roasted tomatoes and 1 can of tomato puree. Tomato puree is similar to tomato sauce, it’s just with out any seasonings.
Bring the sauce to a hard simmer and then add in the sausage pieces…
Cook for 15 minutes before seasoning with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every so often.
Once the pasta sauce is near finished cooking, fill a large pot with water.
Season the water with a couple tablespoons of sea salt. Salting the water is totally optional but seasons the pasta beautifully.
Once the pasta water is boiling, add in one pound of bucatini pasta and cook as directed on the package.
Season the sauce with a pinch or two of Red Pepper Flakes, again- totally optional.
Drain the pasta…
…and toss it with the fire Roasted Tomato Sauce.
Poifect!
Use tongs to drop the pasta and Italian Sausage “meatballs” into bowls, season with LOTS of Grated Parmesan Cheese and fresh basil leaves before serving.
I promise you a comforting pasta dish with flavors are exploding all over the place.
My cookbook Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy is now available! CLICK HERE for details and THANK YOU in advance!
Italian Sausage Bucatini in a Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
The sauce is made with fire-roasted tomatoes, the "meatballs" are actually cut pieces of a rustic Italian sausage (
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 mintues
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes (includes simmering time)
Total Time: about 2 hours
Ingredients:
1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
2 medium celery stalks along with any leaves, coarsely chopped
olive oil
1-1/4 pound quality Italian sausage, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
2 large cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
1-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled in the palm of your hand
1-1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled in the palm of your hand
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
6 ounces tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup water
1 (28 ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) tomato puree
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
a pinch or two of red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound bucatinni noodles
serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh torn basil leaves
Directions:
Add onions, carrots and celery to the bowl of your food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until finely chopped.
Drizzle olive oil in a large, 12-inch deep-sided skillet or dutch oven. Heat pan on medium-high. Working in batches of two, brown the sausages on all sides before transferring them to a clean bowl. Repeat with remaining sausages.
Reduce heat to medium-low and add garlic to the skillet and cook for 1 minutes. Add in the chopped vegetables and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the oregano, basil and Italian seasoning and cook for 1 minute.
Add in the tomato paste and cook until caramelized, 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the wine, stir until absorbed into the tomato mixture, then stir in water.
Add in the crushed tomatoes, tomato puree and sugar. Stir and bring to a hard simmer for 10 minutes before adding in the browned sausages. Cook for 10 more minutes before covering, reducing the temperature to low and simmering for 1 hour.
Taste and season with red pepper flakes and more salt and pepper if desired.
Meanwhile prepare pasta accordingly to package directions. Toss pasta in the sauce and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil.
Toss pasta in the sauce and serve in bowls with Parmesan and torn fresh basil.
