Linguini with Sausage Ragu
I love using chicken sausage. It is hard to tell the links are made with chicken instead of pork or beef. They are healthier and honestly, more delicious. I love using them for all sorts of things including in pasta.
For this dish I bought fresh linguini from Whole Foods. My plan was to make the sausage ragu with pappardelle but while ordering it, the lady behind the counter got confused and gave me linguini instead. I didn’t have the heart to correct her and decided to go with it. Somehow when I make ragu I always envision it with the wide, pappardelle like pasta.. but linguine works really well.
I served this delicious pasta with a big green salad and some red wine… it was a great week night meal…
- ½ pound fresh linguini, cooked and pasta water saved
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 chicken sausage, casings off and crumbled
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- Salt
- ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Heat a large frying pan with the olive oil. Add the sausage and sauté on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the shallots and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes and add the tomato paste. Saute for a minute and add the rosemary and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the fresh pasta and ½ cup spare pasta water. Mix well and check for seasonings. Add salt and grated Pecorino cheese. Serve hot.
