Take your meat sauce to the next level by using sausages to make an incredible Sausage Ragu! Like Shredded Beef Ragu, cooking this sausage pasta sauce long and slow gives it time to develop deep, complex flavours. Complete your Italian feast with Garlic Bread and a garden salad with Italian Dressing.

Sausage Ragu Sauce

Butchers put a lot of time and effort into packing flavour and juiciness into sausages. So I almost see it as my duty to show you how we can get so much more out of sausages than throwing on the barbie* or the usual Bangers and Mash!

Enter – Sausage Ragu. This meat sauce gets a massive flavour boost by using sausage meat rather than plain beef mince, as well as cooking it long and slow which gives the sauce time to develop flavour as well as making the meat melt-in-your-mouth tender.

Also, starting with the classic soffritto helps. Which might sound fancy but it just refers to sautéing onions, garlic, celery and carrots over low heat to make them beautifully sweet.  It’s a secret tip to create an incredible flavour base in dishes.

* Please do not think I am dissing sausage sandwiches! I am a regular at the weekend Bunnings sausage sizzle fundraisers.

Ingredients in Sausage Ragu

Here’s what you need to make this Sausage Ragu. No fancy ingredients!

The sausages

• Beef + pork – I like to use a combination of both pork and beef sausages for the perfect balance of flavour and soft texture. Beef sausages provide the flavour whereas the pork provides the tenderness. Pork is a much softer meat than beef!

  You can use just either beef or pork. If you use only meat, the meat in the sauce will not be as tender. If you use only pork, the meat flavour is more mild. Both are still rippingly delicious!

• Sausage quality – Whichever you use, make sure you use good sausages made with more meat and less fillers. Either look at the ingredients list (I aim for 85%+ meat) or look at the sausage – fat specks means better meat, uniform pink colour indicates lots of fillers like the sausages used for fundraiser sausage sizzles (“BBQ sausages”). They can be as low as 55% meat (the rest is flour, maize and non meat things), and often a mix of beef and chicken.

  Generally speaking, your friendly local butcher is probably the best source. And he can tell you exactly what goes in his sausages!

• Sausage not in casings – In the US it is common to find sausage meat sold like mince/ground beef, not inside the sausage casings. Lucky you! For the rest of us, just squeeze the meat out. It is not hard.

Other ingredients

Here are the other ingredients for the ragu sauce:

• Onion, garlic, carrot and celery – These are the vegetables for the soffrito which is cooked over low heat to make them soften and sweeten which then forms the flavour base for the sauce. This is a classic cooking technique used in cuisines all over the world, from Italian to Mediterranean to Cajun to South American!

• Fennel seeds *Secret ingredient!* – Sautéed in the soffrito, it adds a little je ne sais quoi into the sauce. Only those with a very, very refined palette can pick that it’s in there!

• Wine – Red wine adds depth of flavour to the sauce and is also what we use to deglaze the pot. this refers to the method of using a liquid to dissolve gold bits stuck on the base of a cooking vessel (in this case, the sausage meat) into a sauce. Those “gold bits” is called “fond” and it’s free flavour! This is a standard cooking technique you’ll see I use regularly for sauces and stews.

  Substitute with 0% alcohol wine or more chicken stock.

• Chicken stock, low sodium – This with canned tomato makes up the bulk of the liquid for the sauce. I use chicken rather than beef stock because it’s a milder flavour so you can taste the meat flavour better. I always used low sodium stock so I don’t have to worry about sauces being too salty.

• Tomato paste – Just a smidge to boost the tomato flavour and help thicken the sauce.

• Thyme and bay leaves – The herbs for this pasta sauce. Fresh is best but dried is fine too.

• Chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) – Optional, for a touch of warmth.

Pappardelle pasta

I like to serve this sausage ragu with pappardelle pasta, the wide thick pasta that is sold coiled up, like pictured. The surface is slightly rough so it’s ideal for tossing with thick hearty sauces like this sausage ragu, shredded beef ragu and chicken ragu which clings to the pasta well.

Having said that though, I’d happily serve sausage ragu with any pasta – short or long!

How to make Sausage Ragu

No different to making your favourite Bolognese – just a little extra time for slow cooking!

1. Soffrito – Cook the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in a large heavy based pot over medium heat for 8 minutes, or until the carrot is soft and sweet. Don’t let the vegetables go golden! This step is key for a really beautiful flavour base for the sauce so don’t rush it.

2. Cook sausage – Remove the sausage meat from the casings (you literally just squeeze it out) then cook it like you would mince (ground meat). Break it up as you go but don’t get caught up in a frenzy on this step because sausage meat is “stickier” so it won’t crumble as well. We will break it up finer later partway through cooking.

3. Ragu sauce – Next, cook the tomato paste for 1 minute to remove the raw sour flavour. Then reduce the wine by half to cook out the winey flavour which only takes a couple of minutes. And finally, add the remaining ingredients: canned tomato, chicken stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt, pepper and chilli flakes if using (I always do).

4. Slow cook #1 (1 hour) – Pop the lid on and put it in the oven for 1 hour at 180°C/350°F (160°C). I always feel like this sounds high for a slow cook but actually, this is the oven equivalent temperature of a very small stove burner on low.

   Why oven instead of stove? Just easier because it’s entirely hands off, just stick it in the oven and leave it. No need to worry about the base catching. This sauce is quite thick so if you do use the stove instead, you’ll need to stir quite regularly.

5. Crush meat – Take the pot out of the oven then use a potato masher to crush the meat into finer pieces. (See step 2 notes about how sausage meat doesn’t crumble as well as mince/ground beef). The meat is tender at this point so it doesn’t take much effort. I usually do about 8 to 10 mashing motions around the pot.

6. Slow cook #2 (45 minutes) – Then return the pot into the oven for a further 45 minutes to finish slow cooking. Once done, the sauce will be quite thick, like pictured above, with quite intense flavour. This is what we want because a) the thickness will be loosened up when tossed with pasta; and b) the sauce gets dispersed through pasta so the flavour gets diluted. So the sauce flavour should be intense in the pot so it’s the right level of flavoursome once tossed through the pasta!

Tossing pasta with sauce – essential step!

1. Pasta cooking water – Cook the pasta per the packet directions in a large pot of salted water. Just before draining, scoop out a big jug of the pasta cooking water which we will use in the next step. The starch in the water is what helps the sauce cling to the pasta.*

2. Tossing pasta with sauce – If you are making a full batch, then just add the pasta into the ragu pot set over medium heat on the stove. If you are making a smaller batch as I do in the video (I am making enough for 2 servings) then return the drained pasta into the same pot you cooked the pasta in.

3. Pasta sauce – Add the pasta sauce into the pasta (obviously this step is not relevant if you put the pasta into the pasta sauce pot!!).

4. Pasta cooking water – Add 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. This loosens up the thick pasta sauce so it coats the pasta strands. The reason we use the pasta cooking water is because it has starch in it from the pasta. This starch reacts with the fat in the pasta sauce and makes the sauce thicker so it clings to the pasta strands better, rather than remaining pooled at the bottom of your pasta bowl.

5. Toss, toss, toss! Then use two spatulas to toss the pasta for 1 minute, or until the pasta sauce is tangled throughout and clinging to the pasta, and the pasta strands are stained red. Use an extra slosh of pasta cooking water if you need to loosen things up.

6. Warmed bowl – Divide the pasta between bowls. I like to warm the pasta bowls beforehand (30 seconds in the microwave!) to keep the pasta slippery and warm for longer. Cold pasta = dry pasta!

Serve with a shower of freshly grated parmesan. Then, the picture taker in me couldn’t resist finishing with a pinch of parsley, but it’s totally unnecessary in real life and if you came to my house and I made this for you, said pinch of parsley would not be present.

This is one for the weekend. For lazy Sundays. Serve with garlic bread, rocket or baby spinach salad with balsamic dressing and finish with tiramisu. Reserve a seat for me at your table!!  – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Sausage ragu with pappardelle pasta

Recipe video above. Take your meat sauce to the next level by using sausages instead of plain beef to make an incredible Sausage Ragu! Like Shredded Beef Ragu, cooking this sausage pasta sauce long and slow gives it time to develop deep, complex flavours.

Complete your Italian feast with Garlic Bread, a garden salad with Italian Dressing and a beautiful Tiramisu.

Course Mains

Cuisine Italian

Keyword italian sausage ragu, sausage meat sauce, Sausage Pasta

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 5 – 6 people

Calories 818cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Sausage ragu:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion , finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 1 carrot , peeled and grated using a box grater (Note 1)
• 2 celery stalks , grated using a box grater (Note 1)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 350g / 12 oz pork sausages , meat removed from casings (Note 2)
• 350g / 12 oz beef sausages , meat removed from casings (Note 2)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup pinot noir red wine (sub 0% alcohol red wine or more chicken stock)
• 1 cup chicken stock/broth , low sodium
• 400g/14 oz can crushed tomato
• 3 thyme sprigs (or 1/2 tsp dried)
• 2 bay leaves (fresh better, else dried)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), optional (for hint of heat)

To serve:

• 500g/ 1 lb pappardelle pasta , or other pasta (80g/2.8oz per serving) (Note 3)
• Parmesan or parmigiano reggiano , finely grated, for serving
• Parsley , finely chopped, optional garnish (just a pinch)

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced).
• Soffrito – Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot (with a lid) over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and fennel seeds. Cook for 8 minutes until the carrot is soft and sweet, but not golden.
• Cook sausage – Turn the heat up to high and add the sausage. Cook, breaking it up as you go, as best you can. It doesn't crumble as well as mince/ground meat but that's ok, we will break it up more later.
• Deglaze – Once the meat is no longer pink (it doesn't really brown), add the tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and let it simmer rapidly for 2 minutes until reduced by half, stirring regularly to scrape the base of the pot clean.
• Slow cook #1 (1 hr) – Add the remaining ragu ingredients. Stir, bring to a simmer, put the lid on and place it in the oven for 1 hour.
• Slow cook #2 (45 min) – Remove from the oven and use a potato masher to mash the meat finer. Put the lid back on, and return to the oven for 45 minutes. The sauce will be quite thick, it gets loosened when tossed with the pasta.
• Salt – Taste and add more salt if desired. (Sausages vary in saltiness so I always start with less)

Pasta:

• Cook pasta – Cook the pappardelle according to the packet instructions. Just before draining, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the cooking water and set it aside.
• Toss with sauce – Have the ragu pot on the stove over medium heat. Add the pasta into the pot along with 1/2 cup of the pasta cook water. Use two spatulas to toss the pasta until the ragu is tangled in the pasta strands and it is stained red from the sauce. Use extra pasta cooking water if needed to loosen it up.
• Serve in pre-warmed bowls, garnish with parmesan and a pinch of parsley if desired. Eat immediately!

Notes

Servings – Sauce makes enough for 500g/1 lb pasta which, based on a standard serving of 80g/2.8oz dried pasta per person, is enough for 6 normal people or 5 heartier appetites!

1. Grating – Box grater makes the pieces finer so they disappear better into the meat sauce. Try to use short strokes so you don’t end up with long strands.

2. Sausages – Using both pork and beef is my favourite combination because beef gives the meat sauce beefy flavour whereas pork meat is so soft, it makes the sauce melt-in-your-mouth in a way you will never achieve just using beef. You can also use just pork or just beef. Still so, so tasty!

3. Pasta – Thick wide strands of pappardelle is made for hearty meat sauces like ragu though with a sauce this good, it’s going to be great with any pasta! To make pasta for less than 5 people, use just put some sauce in a separate pan or pot on the stove and toss with the desired amount of pasta. In the video you see me make 2 servings.

4. Making ahead – Ragu just gets better overnight! Cool thoroughly then refrigerate. Warm the ragu on a low stove so it’s hot when you add the pasta for tossing. The ragu can be frozen for 3 months or kept in the fridge for 5 days. Once tossed with pasta, it will keep for 3 to 4 days but pastas are always best eaten freshly made!

Nutrition

Calories: 818cal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 154mg | Sodium: 1193mg | Potassium: 1050mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2262IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 5mg

Originally published in February 2016. Recipe improved in February 2024 with improved sauce flavour and consistency, writing tidied up, much improved video. And most important, Life of Dozer section added!SaveSave

Life of Dozer

And then I published it.SaveSave

The post Sausage Ragu with Pappardelle Pasta appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

“Without the chilli, it’s just another boring tomato pasta. With the chilli, it’s something else!” – Nagi Maehashi from RecipeTin Eats, on Penne all’Arrabbiata, as quoted in today’s recipe video. 😂

Penne all’Arrabbiata

So, I am not sure that one line summary of today’s recipe will go anywhere beyond my little corner of the internet. But that is my articulate description of the greatness that is Penne all’Arrabbiata! Simple made interesting with a good kick of chilli and healthy dose of garlic. The Italians know a thing or two about making simple pastas great!

By way of background, “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian. So this pasta is said to be named as such in reference to its fiery nature!

But fear not. Yes, this is a pasta that is meant to be spicy. But it’s fundamentally a great tomato pasta that you can make as spicy as you’d like. Or not. It’s easy to adjust – just make the sauce with less chilli to start with. Taste it during the simmer time. Add more if you’re feeling bold! 

Ingredients in Penne all’Arrabbiata

Arrabbiata sauce can be made with either fresh or dried chillies. Dried is obviously more convenient, but I really like the extra flavour fresh chilli brings to the sauce so I’ve used a combination of both. Also, two of my go-to Italian recipe sources both use fresh chillis. 

Feel free to double up on either options!

• Cayenne pepper – The larger the chilli, the less spicy they are! So cayenne peppers are not super spicy. Though, I do like to keep the seeds in for an extra zing of spiciness (the seeds is where most of the spiciness is). Feel free to de-seed if you prefer, or just use dried chillis (see note above photo for why I use fresh and dried).

  Feel brave? Use Birds Eye or Thai chillies instead! They pack more spiciness than cayenne peppers.

• Dried red chillis – These have a warm earthiness that fresh chillis do not. Sauteing with garlic brings out the toasty flavour as well as the spiciness. 

• Pasta type – Traditionally made with penne, though ziti is a direct replacement (it’s penne with a smooth surface). Though really, you can make this with any short or long pasta.

• Canned crushed tomato – To be authentic, use whole peeled tomatoes (canned) and mash them up with a fork. For convenience, I use crushed tomatoes! 

  Sourness note: Not all canned tomatoes are created equal! Economical brands tend to be more sour. Take the edge off with ½ teaspoon of sugar. 

• Garlic – 3 cloves! Arrabiata sauce is meant to have a nice hit of garlic flavour.

• Parmesan – For serving.

• Parsley – For optional garnish.

How to make Arrabbiata Sauce

This simple pasta sauce 15 minutes simmering time to breakdown the tomatoes and make the flavours meld. Don’t shortcut it – you’ll rob yourself of flavour!

1. Finely mince the cayenne pepper with the seeds in. (See note in the ingredients section about seeds and spiciness)

2. Sauté garlic and chilli – Use a pot large enough to toss the pasta with the sauce. Heat the oil over medium heat, then stir the garlic for just 10 seconds. Add cayenne and chilli flakes, then cook for 1 minute, or until garlic is light golden.

3. Simmer – Add tomato, salt and pepper. Rinse out the tomato cans with a bit of water and add that in too. Then simmer the sauce gently for 15 minutes until it thickens. 

4. Save water for sauce – While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta per packet directions in salted pasta cooking water. Just before draining, give the pot a big stir (to agitate the starch* in the pasta) then scoop out 1 cup of the water. Then drain the pasta.

   * The starch in the pasta cooking water helps the pasta sauce thicken so it clings to the pasta better. 

5. Toss – Add the pasta into the sauce along with 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss well (still on the stove) until the sauce coats the pasta and is no longer pooled in the base of the pot. Use extra pasta cooking water if needed, to loosen.

6. Serve – Dinnertime! Divide between bowls and serve immediately with parmesan and parsley, if using.

Oh the possibilities!

I’ve kept today’s recipe traditional with no add-ins, delicious as is.

But this recipe is an excellent blank canvas for add-ins of choice. Think – cooked shredded chicken, ham bits, olives (puttanesca-ish!), artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, other leftover cooked vegetables (or sauté from raw). Drop in some raw prawns/shrimp for the last few minutes cook time or some pieces of fish. 

As with all pasta recipes, be sure to have everyone lined up ready to eat as you’re dishing it out so it’s at its slick, juicy, sauciness best. Pass freshly grated parmesan at the table, and top it with a pinch of parsley if you’re feeling fancy.

Enjoy! – Nagi

Watch how to make it

Made Arrabbiata Sauce – and got a free facial!

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Penne all’Arrabbiata (spicy tomato pasta)

Recipe video above. “Arrabbiata” means “angry” in Italian and refers to how the spiciness of this classic Italian pasta! I love how this simple dish is made interesting with a good kick of chilli.

To be authentic, use whole peeled tomatoes and mash them up with a fork. For convenience, I use crushed tomatoes. SPICINESS – See Note 1.

Course Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Keyword arrabbiata penne, arrabbiata sauce, Penne all’arrabbiata

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 567cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 400g/ 14oz penne or ziti , or other pasta of choice (short or long)
• 1 tbsp cooking / kosher salt , for cooking pasta

Arrabiata sauce:

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 1 red cayenne pepper chilli , finely chopped (with seeds) (Note 2)
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes (red pepper flakes)
• 800g / 28 oz canned crushed tomato
• 1 1/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp white sugar , only if needed (Note 3)

Serving:

• parmesan , finely grated
• 2 tsp finely chopped parsley , optional

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Sauté – Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and stir for 10 seconds. Add cayenne and chilli flakes. Cook for 1 minute, or until garlic is light golden.
• Add tomato, salt and pepper. Rinse out the tomato cans with the water and add into the pot.
• Simmer – Turn up the heat to high, stir, then once it comes to a simmer, turn back down to medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes. (Taste check at 10 min – if sour, add the sugar.)
• Cook pasta – Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil with the 1 tablespoon of salt. Add pasta and cook per packet directions.
• Save water – Just before draining, give the pot a big stir (to agitate the starch) then scoop out 1 cup of the water and set aside. (Note 4) Drain pasta.
• Toss – Add pasta into the sauce along with 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Toss well (still on the stove) until the pasta is coated with the pasta sauce. Use extra pasta cooking water if needed, to loosen.
• Serve – Divide between bowls and serve immediately with parmesan and parsley, if using.

Notes

1. SPICINESS – Has a fair kick to it, as it is supposed to! It’s between medium and medium-hot. Not blow-your-head-off. To reduce spiciness, de-seed the cayenne pepper (most spiciness is in the seeds) – this will reduce closer to medium. To reduce further/easy way to control, omit the cayenne pepper. Start with a small amount of chilli flakes then get the sauce simmering. At the 10 minute mark, taste and add more chilli flakes, bit by bit, until you hit your threshold!

2. Cayenne peppers are large red chillis. They are not overly spicy – general rule is the smaller the chilli, the spicier they are. See above for spiciness note.

3. Sugar – Not all canned tomatoes are created equal. The better the quality, the sweeter they are. Only use sugar if required.

4. Reserving/using pasta cooking water – Essential pasta cooking step every Italian does instinctively for every pasta recipe! Starch in the pasta cooking water helps the sauce thicken and cling to the pasta instead of sitting in a watery pool in the bottom of your pasta bowl.

5. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

Nutrition per serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 567cal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1011mg | Potassium: 846mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Vitamin C: 20mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 4mg

Life of Dozer

Nowhere to be seen when I’m sautéing the chilli (the fumes tickle his nose) but he waddles over when it’s done. But – no spicy pasta for Dozer! Can you imagine the mess I’d have to deal with. 😂

The post Penne all’Arrabbiata (spicy tomato pasta) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

This is a fish pasta in a richly flavoured fish ragu pasta sauce. It’s a great recipe to stretch fish further and cook it in a unique way that’s outrageously delicious with big, bold Italian Calabrian spices!

Calabrian Fish Ragu Pasta

I feel like the name of today’s recipe requires explanation.

I’m calling this a ragu because it’s stewy and braisy and has beautiful depth of flavour even though it hasn’t been slow cooked for hours like my Shredded Beef Ragu. Because, NEWSFLASH, it doesn’t have to be slow cooked for hours to be called a ragu!

As for the Calabrian part of the name? It’s because the seasoning is inspired by the flavours of Calabria: chillies and particularly nduja, the intensely-flavoured salami paste from the region that’s rising in popularity in the foodie world. Stuffed in focaccias, dolloped on pizzas, mixed into pasta sauces, this fiery spread has big, bold flavours and a little bit goes a long way.

So, as you might have guessed, this is a fish pasta that is big on flavour. I love that it tastes exotic and restaurant-y but it’s economical and easy!

Ingredients in this Fish Ragu Pasta

Here’s what you need to make this.

1. The fish

Key to this pasta is the spice mix for the fish. As mentioned earlier, the flavours in this fish pasta are based on the seasoning on nduja which is a type of salami. So, think – fennel and paprika with a hit of spiciness. Bold is the word that comes to mind!

Best fish for this pasta

Any firm white fish fillets (skinless and boneless) can be used in this recipe. Here are some suggestions: snapper, John or Silver dory, barramundi, bream, tilapia, pollock, cod, flathead, perch, ling, bass, basa, hake, hoki, monkfish (pricey here, so I reserve for other uses like this recipe). If using frozen, thaw thoroughly and pat dry before using.

I recommend avoiding:

• Fish that dry out easily when cooked – Like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin.

• Delicate and thin-filleted fish – Like flounder, sole, plaice, turbot, whiting. The texture of the flesh is a bit too delicate for this type of cooking.

• Oily fish – Like sardines or mackerel. A bit too overwhelming, flavours don’t quite match.

The Calabrian spices

• Whole fennel and black peppercorns – These are toasted then ground, for maximum flavour impact. I would not ask you to make the effort to toast and grind if I really didn’t believe it was worth it. It is! However, I have substitutions in the recipe notes for ground fennel and pepper, if that’s all you have.

• More spices – Nutmeg, paprika, chilli flakes (red pepper flakes). Feel free to dial back the chilli if you’re concerned about spicineess.

2. In the pasta and the sauce

• Pasta – Any long strand thinnish pasta is ideal here. I use fettuccine.

• Tomato passata – This is pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled “tomato puree” in the US (here’s a photo of Mutti tomato passata sold at Walmart). It’s readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces. It costs around the same as canned tomato.

  Passata is excellent for making thick, smooth sauces and soups without a long simmer time like required to break down crushed tomato. A regular in my recipes! More on tomato passata here.

• Tomato paste – A boost of tomatoey flavour and to help thicken the sauce.

• Garlic – Because, garlic. Rarely do savoury recipes happen around here without garlic!

• Parsley and parmesan – garnishes. I know parmesan isn’t strictly traditional in Italian fish and seafood pastas. But, it works. We’re not after loads of parmesan cheesiness. It just adds saltiness.

3. pangrattato

Pangrattato is an Italian chunky breadcrumb topping that adds an addictive crunch and flavor to pasta dishes and salads. I particularly like it with this fish ragu as it adds great texture and is a terrific contrast to the soft fish.

• Bread – Use a denser bread like sourdough, ciabatta etc which have structure and go really crunchy when toasted. Lightweight sandwich bread is a little too delicate and kind of just dissolves into powder, bypassing the crunch completely. BUT – if sandwich bread is all you have, I’d still go ahead! Or, substitute with panko breadcrumbs.

• Oil and salt – To make it crunchy and salty.

How to make fish ragu

As mentioned earlier, this is a ragu but it doesn’t have to be slow cooked for hours! In fact, if you can multi-task, you’ll get this on the table in just over 20 minutes.

1. pangrattato first

Get the pangrattato in the oven first. Toss the bread in olive oil and salt, then bake in a 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced) oven for 10 minutes until crisp all the way through.

2. CALABRIAN SPICED FISH NEXT

Next up, toast the spices and coat the fish in the tasty flavours.

1. Toast the fennel and black peppercorns for a couple of minutes until it smells fragrant and you can see the fennel is lightly browned. Use a large deep skillet or pot, something large enough to toss the pasta with the sauce later. No oil required at this stage.

2. Grind the spices using a mortar and pestle, or a grinder.

3. Coat the fish with the ground fennel and peppercorns, nutmeg, chilli flakes, sugar, salt, olive oil plus the tomato paste.

4. Once coated, set aside while you prep the other ingredients. No need to marinate.

3. MAKING THE PASTA

The pasta sauce takes around the same time to cook as the pasta so you can make both at the same time.

1. Boil pasta for the time per the packet directions minus 1 minute. It should be al dente – cooked through but still a slight firm but. It will soften more as it cooks through more when tossed with the pasta sauce.

   Scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of pasta cooking water. We will need this for the pasta tossing at the end.

2. Cook fish – Sauté the garlic until golden, then add the fish (scrape out every bit of the paste!) and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the tomato passata and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. The fish ragu sauce – This is what it looks like before the tossing process starts. Notice how the fish pieces are still whole at this stage. Some of the pieces will flake and break when we toss with the pasta, some will stay mostly whole. I find that texture the most appealing for me.

   What we don’t want is for all the fish to disintegrate. It’s so much nicer to have fish chunks so you know you’re eating fish rather than unidentifiable mush!

5. Add reserved pasta cooking water and simmer for a further 2 minutes. The pasta cooking water has starch in it which makes the sauce thicken so it clings to the pasta strand. You will see in the next step!

6. Toss with pasta – Then add the pasta and most of the parlsey. Toss, still on the stove, for 1 minute or until the pasta strands are stained red and all the fish ragu is clinging to the pasta strands rather than pooled in the pan.

   If the pasta gets too thick (excessively enthusiastic tossing, heat too high are typical causes), just add a splash of extra pasta cooking water to thin it out and give it another good toss!

Now, it’s ready for serving. Twirl into bowls and cover liberally with a shower of the crunchy pangrattato and finish with parmesan!

Matters of serving fish ragu

As with any pasta, this fish ragu is best served and eaten piping hot and fresh, straight out of the pan while the pasta is sticky and slippery and saucy. As it sits around, the pasta continues to absorb the liquid, drying it out so it’s thick and stodgy.

So, whenever you are making any pasta, be sure to have the hungry hoards at the table, ready to twirl and slurp the moment you bring the pasta bowls to the table, for maximum enjoyment!

Really hope you love this as much as I do. The fish ragu is divine as it is. But with that crunchy pangrattato? It’s sheer perfection. Enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Calabrian Fish Ragu

Recipe video above. This is a fish pasta in a richly spiced fish ragu pasta sauce. The spice mix is based on njuda, the bold flavoured spreadable Calabrian salami paste that's rising in popularity in the restaurant scene! It's a great way to make fish stretch further, cooked in a unique way that's outrageously delicious with big, bold Southern Italian flavours.

No stale bread? Use panko instead. See notes. 3 servings? I know it's a little odd, but the spice mix didn't scale down neatly to make pasta for 2! (3/8 tsp nutmeg?!). Leftovers are always delicious.

Course Mains

Cuisine Italian-esque

Keyword fish pasta, fish ragu

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 3

Calories 714cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

Calabrian spiced fish:

• 250g/ 8 oz firm white fish fillets , skinless, boneless, cut into 2 cm / 0.8″ cubes (barramundi, snapper, cod – Note 1)
• 3/4 tsp black peppercorns (Note 2 for ground option)
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (Note 2 for ground option)
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika (sub ordinary paprika)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), feel free to reduce/omit
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 tsp caster / superfine sugar
• 3/4 tsp cooking / kosher salt
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato paste

Pasta:

• 250g/8 oz linguine pasta (or fettuccine, spaghetti)
• 1 tbsp cooking / kosher salt , for pasta water
• 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• 3/4 cup tomato passata (US: tomato puree, Note 3)

Garnish:

• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• Parmesan cheese , finely grated, for serving

Pangrattato

• 1 cup stale bread like sourdough, ciabatta , crusts removed, torn/chopped into irregular 1cm/0.4" pieces (Note 4)
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pinch cooking / kosher salt

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Toast & grind – Preheat a large deep skillet or pot over medium heat (Note 5), no oil. Toast black peppercorn and fennel for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until it smells fragrant and the fennel is lightly browned. Transfer to a mortar and use a pestle and grind to a powder while still hot.
• Coat fish – Transfer to a medium bowl with remaining Calabrian spiced fish ingredients. Stir well with a spatula until combined. Set aside.
• Cook pasta – Boil 3 litres of water with the cooking salt. Cook pasta per packet directions minus 1 minute. Just before draining, scoop out 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking water. Then drain in a colander and leave until ready to use.
• Calabrian fish ragu – While the pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in the same skillet you used to toast the fennel on medium high. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the fish. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Add tomato passata. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Toss pasta – Add pasta and 3/4 of the parsley. Toss for 1 minute to coat the pasta with the sauce. Most of the fish will break up into flakes but some will remain in larger chunks – this is good! We don't want disintegrated mush, nor giant chunks. Once the pasta turns red and the sauce and fish bits are clinging to the pasta straws, remove from heat and divide between bowls immediately.
• Serve – Sprinkle with pasta, pangrattato and parmesan. Eat immediately!

Pangrattato:

• Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (160°C fan-forced).
• Toss bread, oil and salt in a small bowl. Spread on a tray and bake for 10 minutes, tossing at the 5 minute mark, or until light golden and fully crisp.

Notes

1. Firm white fish fillets – Works best with fairly firm white fish fillets that are not too thick. Some suggestions: snapper, John or Silver dory, barramundi, bream, tilapia, pollock, cod, flathead, perch, ling, bass, basa, hake, hoki. If using frozen, thaw thoroughly and pat dry before using.

I recommend avoiding:

• Fish that dry out easily when cooked – Like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin.
• Delicate and thin-filleted fish – Like flounder, sole, plaice, turbot, whiting. The texture of the flesh is a bit too delicate for this type of cooking.
• Oily fish – Like sardines or mackerel. A bit too overwhelming, flavours don’t quite match.

2. Grinding whole spices will give the best flavour in this recipe, it really makes a difference here. I only emphasise this when it matters, I will use pre-ground whenever I can! But you can use pre-ground if that’s all you’ve got. 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp fennel powder. No toasting, just mix in with other spices.

3. Tomato passata – Pureed, strained pure tomatoes, sometimes labelled “tomato puree” in the US (here’s a photo of Mutti tomato passata sold at Walmart). Readily available in Australian supermarkets nowadays, alongside pasta sauces. Excellent for making thick, smooth sauces. More on tomato passata here.

4. Back up – use 1/2 cup panko instead, toast for shorter time. If the bread isn’t stale that’s fine too, it’ll take a little longer to go crunchy and is a little harder to cut into small pieces.

5. Cooking vessel needs to be large enough to toss the sauce with the pasta.

6. Recipe reference – inspired by this recipe torn out from the Delicious magazine during a flight. Though, my resulting recipe is very different. Much saucier (good thing), faster (also a good thing) with bolder flavours (that’s just how I roll!).

7. Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Warm in microwave with a splash of water and toss well. Store pangrattato in the pantry.

Nutrition per serving assuming 3 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 714cal | Carbohydrates: 86g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 3264mg | Potassium: 844mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1661IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 5mg

More things to make with fish!

Chilli Lime Fish

Fish Tacos

Sizzling Ginger Steamed Fish

Goan Fish Curry (Indian)

Fish Seasoning (great all-rounder)

Thai Fish Cakes

Homemade Filet-O-Fish (BAKED!!)

Fish Cakes

Fish Fingers recipe

Fish recipes

Life of Dozer

My house needed a major air-out over the weekend after a particularly intense week of spice-heavy cooking, so I left all the doors open all day to create a nice breezeway.

Dozer was put on front door guard duty. I felt totally safe.

The post Calabrian Fish Ragu Pasta appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

My current favourite chicken soup! Creamy broth, juicy little bits of chicken, pasta shells and swirls of spinach with a sprinkle of sun dried tomato I use in place of croutons. Think – under the Tuscan Sun. Except – sweater weather food!

Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

Let me just say upfront – I call this Tuscan but there’s nothing authentically Tuscan about it (as far as I know). To me, it has Tuscan vibes, so I gave it a cute name with the hopes to pique your interest. Just in case my photos and writing doesn’t do the job well enough to convince you that you really need to try this creamy chicken soup!!!

In all honesty, I was gazing longingly at my Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake from my cookbook, trying to muster up the energy to make it. Because that big bubbling pasta bake does require a semi-modest commitment of time to make. Worth it, but sadly, time is not always on my side.

This Tuscan Soup was born from similar ingredients. A faster, soup version of the pasta bake. I hope you fall in love with this soup as much as I have!

Ingredients in Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

Those of you who have made the Tuscan Chicken Pasta Bake will recognise most of these ingredients. All the star players are present – sun dried tomato, spinach, chicken, pasta, cream, cheese!

Things in the soup

Here are the things that are bobbing about in the creamy soup broth:

• Chicken – I prefer thigh because it’s juicier, has better flavour and is thin enough to cook whole, so no raw meat chopping called for. But breast can be used too. If using chicken breast, slice horizontally into thin steaks to sear. The thick whole breasts are too thick.

• Pasta – I use small shells. Any small pasta is fine here. Think – ditalini, small macaroni, risoni/orzo (you’ve got half the packet left from last weeks’ salad, right!?). Anything small enough to be easy to scoop up with a spoon that cooks in around 10 minutes. Broken spaghetti or other long pasta will also work – break into 4cm / 1.5″ pieces.

• Sun dried tomato – This is the garnish for this soup! Instead of using croutons, nuts etc. Little chewy pops of concentrated savoury tomato flavour with swirls of the red oil from the sun dried tomato jar.

• Garlic and onion – Flavour base!

• Celery – Vegetable of choice here. I like it because the colour sort of blends into the soup, keeping it lovely and white so the bright red sun dried tomato and swirls of spinach stand out. Plus, celery is a classic flavour base for many savoury things. Substitute with other cook-able vegetables. Think: diced zucchini, corn, carrots.

• Butter – The cooking fat of choice, because it’s got more flavour than oil.

Creamy chicken soup broth

A splash of white wine, good handful of parmesan and finishing with cream gives the Tuscan soup broth great flavour!

• Cornflour/cornstarch – This is what is used to thicken the soup. I opted to use this over flour for calorie control reasons. Using flour, I would’ve needed an extra 30g/2 tbsp of butter to stir the flour into at the beginning to make a roux. With cornflour, you just mix with a bit of water then stir it into the soup right at the end. Also, cornflour makes the soup nice and shiny, which I like in this soup (flour makes broths dull).

• Wine – Just 1/2 a cup, adds extra depth of flavour so you there’s enough flavour using half stock, half water, rather than 2 litres / quarts of water. Money saving tip. It’s like free stock! Doesn’t make the broth taste winey, because we cook out the alcohol, just leaving behind lovely savoury flavour.

  Can’t consume alcohol? Switch half the water for more chicken stock/broth.

• Cream – Gives the soup a lovely creamy mouthfeel finish as well as making the soup white. You can opt to use milk instead, but reduce water by 1/2 cup and use 1 1/2 cups milk (else soup colour not as white). To get a nice finish, I’d add a knob of butter!

• Parmesan – Another flavour boost. Normally I recommend shredding your own but I used store-bought pre-shredded for convenience here and it melted fine in the hot soup (unlike in cheesy sauces). The sandy-type, from the fridge (not aisle please! If it ain’t in the fridge, it ain’t real cheese! )

How to make Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

Searing our own chicken makes this soup tastier than just adding pre-cooked chicken into the soup broth. Because colour on the chicken = tastier chicken, and the soup broth gets extra (free!) flavour from the golden bits left in the pot from searing the chicken.

1. Sear the chicken in the butter, just to get some colour on the surface. It doesn’t matter if it’s not cooked all the way through because after we chop it, it gets added back into the soup. As noted above, cooking our own chicken gets us on the path to a more delicious soup!

2. Chop the chicken once it’s cool enough to handle. I do this while the pasta is cooking. Don’t worry about raw bits, they will cook through quickly once added back into the hot soup broth.

3. Sauté the onion, garlic and celery in the same pot using the residual butter.

4. Broth & pasta – Deglaze the pot by simmering the white wine rapidly until reduced by half. Deglazing just means to dissolve the chicken-searing golden bits on the base of the pot into the liquid for extra flavour in the soup broth.

   Pasta – Once the broth is brought back up to the boil, add the pasta and cook it for the time per the packet directions (10 minutes for the small shells I used).

   Chopped chicken – Once the pasta is in, I chop the chicken then just add it into the broth about halfway through the pasta cooking time.

5. Thicken soup – Mix together the cornflour/cornstarch with a smidge of water then stir it into the soup broth. We only use a bit of cornflour because the soup gets thickening help from the gluten in the pasta and the cream.

6. Soup finishes – Then stir in the parmesan, follow by the cream and spinach. Once the spinach has wilted, which should only take a minute or so, the cornflour will have thickened the soup. And that’s it – ready to serve!

7. Sun dried tomatoes – Chop sun dried tomatoes into scattering-size-pieces.

8. Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with sun dried tomato and a little drizzle of the oil from the sun dried tomato jars (love how the red looks against the white soup). A sprinkle of extra parmesan wouldn’t hurt either. Then dig in!

Pasta soup storage matters!

Pasta loves to absorb liquid. So if you leave the pasta overnight in the broth, it will bloat and become overly soft.

So to store leftovers, it’s best to separate the broth from the pasta. Just use a slotted spoon to scoop out the pasta bits then store the pasta and broth in separate containers in the fridge. They will keep for 3 to 4 days.

Making ahead intentionally

This is a great soup to prepare ahead to reheat later! Just cook the pasta, drain, thicken the soup , then store the chicken with pasta and soup broth separately. They can be refrigerated for 4 days or frozen for 3 months. Reheat the soup broth first, then add the pasta and chicken to reheat. I’ve popped these directions in the recipe card too.

Hope you enjoy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Creamy Tuscan Chicken Soup

Recipe video above. My (current) favourite chicken soup – utterly divine! Creamy broth, juicy little bits of chicken, pasta (I used small shells), swirls of spinach and a sprinkling of sun dried tomato which I use instead of the usual croutons. Easy, one pot, quick to make, and great for making ahead.

I call it "Tuscan" because to me it has Tuscan vibes, so christened it as such with a cute name. But no, it's not authentic – and that's ok! It's still delicious.

Course Soups

Cuisine Italian-esque, Western

Keyword chicken pasta soup, chicken soup, creamy chicken soup, pasta soup, tuscan soup

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 5

Calories 688cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 500 g/1 lb chicken thighs , skinless boneless (Note 1 for breast)
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

Soup:

• 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion , finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves , minced
• 2 large celery stems , finely sliced (sub 2 carrots)
• 1/2 cup chardonnay or other dry white wine, optional (Note 2)
• 4 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium
• 3 cups water
• 1 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 250g/8 oz small pasta shells (or other small pasta, rice, potato etc – see Note 3)
• 1 cup (tightly packed) parmesan, finely grated or store bought pre-grated (sandy type) (Note 4)
• 1 cup thickened/heavy cream (Note 5 for milk sub)
• 2 packed cups baby spinach , chopped kale or similar
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomato strips , chopped into 1cm pieces, plus bit of oil drizzling (Note 6)

Soup thickener (cornflour slurry):

• 2 tsp cornflour/cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp water

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Cook outside of chicken – Sprinkle each side with the salt and pepper. Melt butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Once foamy, place the chicken in and cook the first side for 3 minutes or until light golden, then the other side for 2 minutes – it's fine if the inside is still raw, it cooks more later. Remove onto a plate.
• Soup flavour base – Turn the stove down to medium low. Add garlic, onion and celery into the same pot then cook for 3 minutes or until the onion is softened.
• Deglaze – Turn up to high, add wine, stir, then let it simmer until the wine reduces by half.
• Broth & pasta – Add stock/broth, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil then add the pasta. Cook for the time per the pasta packet directions (~10 minutes), stirring every now and then so the pasta doesn't stick to the base of the pot.
• Add chicken partway – While the pasta is cooking, chop the chicken into 1.5cm / 1/2" pieces then add into the pot to finish cooking.
• Finish soup – Once the pasta is cooked, turn heat down to low. Stir in parmesan until melted. Stir in the cornflour-water mixture, cream and spinach. Stir for a minute until spinach is wilted and soup thickens slightly.
• Serve – Ladle into bowls. Sprinkle with sun dried tomato strips (and a bit of oil looks nice for finishing). Eat!
• Storing – Separate pasta from soup so it doesn't bloat, refrigerate both. Just scoop out with slotted spoon. (Note 6)

Notes

1. Chicken – If using breast, split each in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks. Then cook per recipe.

2. Wine – Adds extra depth of flavour so you there’s enough flavour using 50/50 chicken stock/water (money saving tip ). It’s like free stock!

For non alcoholic, either use zero-alcohol white wine or substitute half the water for more chicken stock (otherwise the broth will lack a bit of flavour).

3. Pasta subs – Other small pasta like ditalini, small macaroni, rison/orzo can be used in the recipe as written, cook per packet time. Break long strand pasta into spoonable bits.

Gluten free pasta – Make recipe as written but you might want to increase the cornflour/cornstarch slightly to thicken the soup a little because the recipe relies on the starch in gluten pasta to help thicken the soup slightly.

Potato – cube, and reduce soup cook time (1.5 cm / 0.6″ cubes cook in around 7 min). You might want to increase cornflour/cornstarch to thicken soup (same reason as GF pasta).

Rice – White rice, use recipe as written, ~1 cup uncooked rice. Not brown rice (takes too long to cook).

4. Parmesan – Store bought sandy-type parmesan melts fine in this soup. But – fridge. Not from the aisle (that ain’t cheese!)

5. Cream gives the soup a lovely creamy mouthfeel finish as well as making the soup white. If using milk instead, reduce water by 1/2 cup and use 1 1/2 cups full-fat milk (else soup colour not as white). This will shave 140 calories off each serving. Though I’d add a knob of butter!

6. Sun dried tomato is the sprinkle for this soup that keeps things interesting! All my recipes I call “Tuscan this-and-that” has it in it. Nice change from the usual croutons and nuts, and adds a little punch of flavour, plus the red oil looks good!

7. Storing – Pasta left in broth will bloat and soften overnight. For leftovers, just scoop out all the pasta etc using a slotted spoon and store separately from the broth, in the fridge. If making ahead intentionally, for best results: do to the end of step 5, drain soup in colander, return broth into pot. Thicken soup with parmesan and cornflour slurry, add spinach. Cool. Let pasta, chicken etc in colander cool. Store both separately. Can even freeze!

Nutrition per serving. Shave 140 calories off by switching cream for milk, per note 4.

Nutrition

Calories: 688cal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 1253mg | Potassium: 1145mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2342IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 282mg | Iron: 4mg

More soup love

Sweet Potato Soup – simple but great!

Broccoli and Potato Soup

Fish Chowder Soup

Lamb Shawarma Chickpea Soup

Minestrone Soup

Lentil Soup (seriously amazing!)

Pumpkin Soup

Soups

Life of Dozer

Licking up drips from dirty dishes. He’s such a grot.

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