Speedy Sausage Ragù With Crispy Garlic

When you want a groan-worthy dish but you’re short on time, make this outrageously savory sausage ragù. Ragù is an Italian, meat-based sauce typically served over pasta. Arguably the best-known version is Bolognese sauce, from Bologna in the Emilia-Romagna region, enriched with milk and/or cream. Ragù from northern Italy often incorporates minced or ground meat, and is generally a hearty but uniform sauce. In contrast, ragù from southern Italy—say, Neapolitan-style ragù from Naples—is known for using whole cuts of meat and more tomatoes, as well as regional sausages. Wherever it’s made, ragù is traditionally a long-and-low affair, taking the greater portion of a day or sometimes even longer to develop its signature flavor. Depending on the recipe, Italian soffritto—onions, carrots, and celery cooked down in olive oil—meat, broth, wine, and sometimes cream or milk, bubble away to make a tender, rich sauce. Tagliatelle or wider pappardelle is the pasta of choice for many ragùs. But for chunkier versions, rigatoni, paccheri, or other other ribbed, tubular shapes are equally great for catching the sauce. In this untraditional weeknight version, I wanted a dynamic flavor—but made in a fraction of the time it would normally require. Cured chorizo, anchovies, and red wine fortify the flavor and deliver delicious results. I love a chunky sauce, so I cut sausage into coins and broke up whole canned tomatoes for a rustic texture. The finished sauce is jam-packed with umami, then finished with crispy garlic chips to take it even farther. It’s pure comfort. Perfect for a satisfying meal after a long day.

Speedy Sausage Ragù With Crispy Garlic

Serves 4

RAGU INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

• 3 oil-packed anchovy fillets

• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated on a Microplane

• 3 tbsp tomato paste

• 14 oz pork sausage (such as sweet Italian), sliced into coins

• 2 1/2 oz cured chorizo, casing removed, quartered lengthwise, then thinly sliced

• 1/3 cup dry red wine

• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes

• 1 large stem rosemary

• 1/2 to 1 tsp red pepper flakes, depending on your spice preference

• 1/4 tsp paprika (any kind works)

• 10 oz paccheri or rigatoni

GARLIC CHIPS

• 3 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced (ideally on a mandoline)

• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

• Kosher salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Set a large enameled pan over medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the oil and sauté the onion for about 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent and golden.

2. Stir in the anchovies, breaking them up with your spoon. Stir in the garlic. Sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.

3. Scoot the onion mixture to the perimeter of the pan and add the pork sausage. Sauté for about 7 minutes, undisturbed. Turn the slices once they’ve lightly browned, then sauté for another 3 minutes.

4. Stir in the chorizo, then add wine and deglaze, scraping any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce most of the wine, about 1 minute.

5. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the canned tomatoes, plus their juices, rosemary, pepper flakes, and paprika. Stir all together. Bring to a boil, still over medium heat, stirring occasionally, then lower to simmer and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes, then break up the tomatoes with your spoon.

6. Meanwhile, set a large pot of water over high heat to come to a boil.

7. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or so, until the sauce has thickened and become very aromatic. Remove and discard the rosemary stem.

8. While the sauce is finishing up, make the garlic chips: Add a layer of paper towels to a wire rack. Set a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the oil and cook the garlic in batches: Add a single layer to the pan and cook until golden on one side, about 3 minutes. Flip the slices and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until golden on the second side. (If the garlic browns too quickly, remove the pan from the heat so you can catch up.) Transfer the garlic chips to the paper towel and sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with remaining slices.

9. Generously season the boiling water with salt. Cook the pasta until al denté according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then strain. Add the pasta to the ragu. Fold the pasta into the sauce, adding ¼ cup of the pasta water at a time to render the ragu silky enough to cling to the noodles.

10. Evenly divide the pasta between bowls, top with the crispy garlic, and dig in.