Hearty Italian Sausage And Meatball Stew Ragu Recipes

ITALIAN RAGU WITH MEATBALLS AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• In a large sauce pot (8-quart size minimum), heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil on a very low flame. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until it has turned translucent. Do not brown the onion, but allow it to almost melt away. Add the garlic cloves and very lightly cook them in the oil until golden before adding the tomatoes and all their juices. Add salt and pepper to taste, and the basil leaves and set the heat on low. Allow the tomatoes to cook at very low heat for at least 2 hours before adding the meat.
• Make the meatballs: mix the ground beef and veal together in a large bowl. Combine the bread and milk and mash together to form a paste; add the bread to the ground meat. Add the eggs, garlic, parsley, cheese, salt, and pepper to the meat mixture and combine all the ingredients using your fingers to mix uniformly, but do not over mix or the meat will dry out when cooked. Pick up 2 tablespoons of the mixture and roll it into a ball shape, between the palms of your hands. Do this until you have used all the meat. This should yield approximately 24 meatballs.
• Place the remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet and heat over medium flame. Add the meatballs in 1 layer and brown on all sides before removing. Do this to the remaining meatballs until all are browned to a caramelized color. After all the meatballs have been browned and removed from the skillet, add the sausage links and brown well, following the same method as the meatballs. When all the meat has cooked, add to the tomato ragu, which has been cooking for 2 hours and cook an additional hour. Serve the tomato ragu over rigatoni pasta cooked to manufacturer's directions. Serve the meats on another plate as a second course.

HEARTY MEATBALL STEW

Steps:

• For the meatballs: Place the bread and 3 tablespoons water into a medium bowl. Mash to a paste with a spatula. Add the beef, sausage, egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Blend the mixture thoroughly with your hands or a flexible spatula. Form the mixture into 10 to 16 meatballs. Arrange the meatballs on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until ready to use.
• For the hearty meatball stew: Sprinkle the meatballs with the flour and turn to coat with any flour still on the foil. Heat a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Drop the meatballs into the skillet, spaced apart. Cook until the bottoms are set and brown, about 2 minutes. Using a flexible thin spatula, turn each meatball onto an uncooked side and cook until the bottoms are set and brown, about 2 minutes longer. Turn and cook a third side, until set and brown, about another 2 minutes, so the meatballs are browned and set all over. Transfer the meatballs to a large plate.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, peppers, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Cook until soft, 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and the remaining salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, beans, tomatoes, red pepper flakes and broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook until the potatoes are tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about 20 minutes.

HEARTY ITALIAN SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• Brown Italian sausage over medium heat in a soup pot and drain.
• Add olive oil, onion, garlic and carrots.
• Cook over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, beef broth, kidney beans and 1/2 a can of white beans.
• Mash remaining white beans and add.
• Simmer 10-20 minutes.
• Add macaroni and cook until tender, usually about 10 minutes.
• Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with Pecorino Romano and/or Parmesan cheese.

HEARTY RAGU BOLOGNESE

Steps:

• Place onions, celery, carrot and garlic in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped. In a Dutch oven, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Add vegetable mixture and nutmeg; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are softened., Add beef; cook 6-8 minutes longer or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up beef into crumbles. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove with a slotted spoon; discard drippings from pan., In same pan, cook sausage over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Return beef mixture to pan. Stir in wine. Bring to a boil; cook and stir until wine is evaporated. Add broth and chicken breasts; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 12-15 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165°. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Finely chop chicken., Add cream and tomato paste; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Return chicken to pot; reduce heat and simmer, covered, 3-4 hours or until flavors are blended, stirring occasionally. Serve with pasta.

HEARTY SAUSAGE STEW

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook sausages over medium heat until a thermometer reads 160°. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. Cut sausages into 1/2-inch slices; set aside., In the drippings, saute onion and pepper until crisp-tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, apple juice, parsley, garlic, basil, oregano and sausages. Bring to a boil; add pasta. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender., Serve immediately or cool and freeze in freezer containers for up to 3 months. , To use frozen stew: Thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Transfer to a saucepan; add water to thin if necessary. Cover and cook over medium heat until hot and bubbly, stirring occasionally.

HEARTY ITALIAN MEATBALL SOUP

Steps:

• Stir water, tomatoes, beef broth, and Italian seasoning together in a large pot; bring to a boil. Add meatballs, Italian-blend vegetables, and pasta to the pot. Return broth to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until the meatballs are heated through and the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

SAUSAGE RAGù

Steps:

• 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.
• Add onion, carrot, celery and parsley and stir. Drizzle in more oil 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.
• 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. 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.
• 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.

HEARTY ITALIAN SAUSAGE AND MEATBALL STEW #RAGU

Steps:

• Place a 4-5 quart Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion, green pepper, zucchini and salt. Mix well. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until just heated through. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning. Mix well. Add the Ragu sauce, beef broth, garbanzo beans, black beans and diced tomatoes. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta and cook until pasta is al dente. Add the sausage and meatballs. Mix well and bring to a simmer to heat through.
• Top each individual serving with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.