Sausage Ragu

Oh dear, my blogging seems to have fallen away slightly - been relatively busy recently but I will not let this slip! Anyway, here's a great recipe for a quick, delicious dinner. This sausage ragu is warming, intense and spicy - perfect for a winter's night (I know we're in March, but I'm looking out the window and it's currently snowing, so it's still fecking winter). It goes perfectly with freshly cooked pasta and a zesty dressed salad - making this dish seems relatively impressive however it really is dead easy.

Ingredients

• 1 x large onion, diced
• 4 x Cumberland sausages (or a variety you prefer), removed from casing
• 2 x garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 x 400g tinned tomatoes
• 1 x tablespoon of tomato purée
• 1 x teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 1 x teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 x tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 x small glass of red wine
• 6 x cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 2 x handfuls of rocket 
• juice of half a lemon
• freshly grated Parmesan - as much as you want
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Get a large, non-stick pan on medium heat, pour in the olive oil and allow to heat up for a couple of minutes. Once hot, add the onion, garlic and chilli flakes and cook until translucent and soft. Turn the heat up slightly and add the sausage meat and fry until completely cooked. 
2. Once ready and smelling amazing, add the oregano and fresh tomatoes. Allow the pan to heat up a bit more and then add your red wine. With a wooden spoon, scrape the pan as the wine evaporates, making sure the sauce will pick up as much flavour as possible. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, add the tinned tomatoes and tomato purée and stir well. Reduce to a simmer and allow to thicken for about 20 minutes. Season well.  
3. While the sauce thickens, get your pasta on. This one goes with quite a few types but I went with spaghetti. If your sauce starts to look a little too thick, add a tablespoon of water from the boiling pasta. 
4. Just before the sauce and pasta is ready, place the rocket in a bowl and add the lemon juice and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Toss well and serve on top of the pasta and sauce. Grate the Parmesan all over the dish and serve immediately. 

It really is quite a complexly flavoured dish - the deep, intense flavour from the tomatoes and red wine is accompanied by the spice from the chilli and the lovely meaty flavour from the sausage. All these warming aspects go perfectly with the light, zesty salad on top of it. And of course the Parmesan adds a great salty edge to all of it. This dish is so easy to make and only takes about half an hour - perfect for a midweek, post-work dinner during these cold nights. Give it a go.