Sara Jenkins’ Incredibly Easy Sausage Ragù or Ragù Done Right

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Julia Moskin of the Times

When I was growing up, my WASP mother often made a dish called “Spaghetti Meat Sauce”. I loved it. The recipe came from a neighbor in our WASPiest of WASP enclaves. It later turned out that its author was a closet Italian-Canadian, because Italians just didn’t exist at that time in WASPdom. The other day, Julia Moskin, who writes a column in the New York Times called “Recipe Lab”, recalled her introduction to “Meat Sauce” in her similarly non-Italian household. Her “Meat Sauce” however, unlike my Mother’s, was hit or miss. In fact, Ms. Moskin refers to her recipe as ‘unpredictable’, regularly “thin, sour, sweet, chewy or all of the above.” So Ms. Moskin enlisted the guidance of Sarah Jenkins.

Ms Jenkins is a New York chef with a background in Italian cooking. She grew up in Tuscany and she cooked all over Italy before landing in New York. Here she is famous for commanding two must-stops on any food-centric visit to the city. Porchetta (110 East 7th St. Tel 212 777 2152), her sandwich shop, is just down the block from Porsena (21 East 7th St. Tel: 212 228 4923) where Chef Jenkins presides over some of the city’s best pasta. She’s even written a book about it called “Four Seasons of Pasta”(Avery 2015) with Nancy Harmon Jenkins, who is her mother and a noted food writer.

Sara Jenkins as seen through the window
of Porchetta

Like many Italian-trained chefs, Italian-American cooking is something of a mystery to Ms. Jenkins. Items that never appear in Italy are staples here including Pepperoni Pizza and Garlic Bread. And as to that classic “Sunday Sauce”, well, Ms. Jenkins allows that she has never seen plain pasta topped with meat sauce anywhere in that country. Instead, Ms Jenkins offers up a recipe that Ms. Moskin describes as “absurdly simple”. But before offering it up, she shares Ms. Jenkins goal: “A succulent bowl of pasta, steaming hot and savory with meat juices, concentrated tomatoes and aromatics.” The weather this weekend is the coldest in months and so it seemed the perfect night for Pasta. It was even a Sunday so I would have time to stew over my sauce. The recipe, however, called for only 2 hours.

What differentiates Ms. Jenkins’ recipe from others I have made? It’s really not the sauce, which is straightforward and relies mainly on cooking everything slowly, steadily and at low heat. Its ingredients are standard stuff; pork sausage, onion, carrot, celery and whole tomatoes. But it’s the final step of combining the pasta with the sauce that makes all the difference and gave Ms. Moskin’s article it’s name: Ragù Done Right. The sauce is combined with the pasta when it is very hot and al dente. That way the pasta absorbs the sauce, actually continuing the cooking process. The pasta’s cooking liquid is essential here. It is added in increments so the pasta cooks on becoming softer and plumper. Finally, you use the cooking water to swoosh the serving bowls thereby heating them so they don’t cool your perfect pasta. A little more sauce ladled on top, some parsley and you have it, Ragù done right! Here is the recipe.

Recipe for Sausage Ragù adapted from “The Four Seasons of Pasta” (Avery 2015) by Sara Jenkins and Nancy Harmon Jenkins

1 pound sweet Italian sausage or bulk sausage

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 onion, minced

1 carrot, minced

2 celery stalks, minced

¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish

1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano, with its juice

1 large sprig fresh thyme

1 large sprig fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt

Ground black pepper

1 pound tubular dried pasta such as mezzi rigatoni, paccheri or penne

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish, optional

1. With the tip of a small, sharp knife, slit open the sausage casings. Crumble the meat into a wide, heavy skillet or Dutch oven and set over medium-low heat. If the meat is not rendering enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan as it begins to cook, add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until the meat is frying gently, not steaming. Sauté, breaking up any large chunks, until all the meat has turned opaque (do not let it brown), about 5 minutes.

2. The Cuisinart could have invented to make the ‘battuto’ which is the Italian version of sofrito. Cut the onion, carrot, celery into chunks. Process until the mixture is minced.

3. Add the ‘battuto‘ to the sausage. Drizzle on more oil on the sausage if the pan seems dry. Cook over very low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have melted in the fat and are beginning to caramelize, and the meat is toasty brown. This may take as long as 40 minutes, but be patient: It is essential to the final flavors.

4. Add tomatoes and their juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands or with the side of a spoon. Bring to a simmer, then add thyme and rosemary and let simmer, uncovered, until thickened and pan is almost dry, 20 to 25 minutes.

Mix tomato paste with 1 cup hot water.

5. Add to pan, reduce heat to very low, and continue cooking until the ragù is velvety and dark red, and the top glistens with oil, about 10 minutes more. Remove herb sprigs. Sprinkle black pepper over, stir and taste.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil pasta until just tender. Scoop out 2 cups cooking water, drain pasta and return to pot over low heat. Quickly add a ladleful of ragù, a splash of cooking water, stir well and let cook 1 minute. Taste for doneness. Repeat, adding more cooking water or ragù, or both, until pasta is cooked through and seasoned to your liking.

6. Pour hot pasta water into a large serving bowl to heat it. Pour out the water and pour in the pasta. Top with remaining ragù, sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately. Pass grated cheese at the table, if desired.

Sara Jenkins’ Incredibly Easy Sausage Ragù or Ragù Done Right

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