Are you looking for a quick and easy recipe for when you are short of time? This sausage and bacon ragu meal is just what you need for a tasty autumn treat.
If you love Italian food then this recipe is for you. This ragu has turned into one of my favourite meals already and it was created by my boyfriend on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The recipe came to life from leftovers in the fridge from a previous meal. Since Italian food is one of my favourites I was eager to try it out for myself.
The recipe in itself is fairly simple. All you have to do it chop up the tomatoes, bacon and sausages, cook with some herbs and spices and add in a tin of tomatoes whilst cooking pasta. I was really interested to see what a ragu actually was but it is fairly easy to understand. What makes it a ragu is the tomato and meat base. The traditional bolognaise is a type of ragu, but ragu’s often have a smaller amount of tomato. The trick with this recipe is to let it reduce down to quite a thick sauce. It is a relatively easy recipe to make but doesn’t compromise on flavour. We added some ripe cherry tomatoes from the garden but this is optional, as you will already be adding a tin!
Sausage and Bacon Ragu Recipe
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- Italian seasoning – which compromises of basil oregano, rosemary and thyme,
- Crushed chilli powder or a quarter of a red chilli chopped up
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- Chipolata sausages
- Bacon
- Tortellini parcels – I used fresh egg pasta for the first time and you can really tell the difference!
- Cherry tomatoes from the garden Optional
Instructions
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Chop the ingredients
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Heat a pan and add in the ingredients.
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Season well
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Add in the tin of tomatoes
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Reduce the sauce
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Cook the pasta
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Mix the sauce with the pasta
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Dish out the meal between two people
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Sprinkle with cheese
1. Chop the main ingredients
To begin, chop up the cherry tomatoes – if you’re using them – the bacon and sausages into slices and chunks. This not only makes for a quicker cooking time but for ease of eating too! Heat up a pan with some olive oil and wait until hot before adding the chopped ingredients including the fresh chillies if you are using them.
2. Season well
Now is the time to add in the seasoning. As the meat is browning add in salt and pepper, chilli powder and the Italian seasoning. I would say to use more parts oregano and basil to the thyme and rosemary amounts for a full flavour. Add in a generous amount of seasoning. Stir well and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add in the tin of tomatoes.
When the meat has browned slightly add in the tin of tomatoes. Depending on the brand of tomato you may want to add a few drops of lemon and sugar to wake up the tomato flavour and rid the taste of metal from the tin. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes in total to cook through and reduce.
4. Cook the pasta
After the sauce has been cooking for about 10 minutes, it is time to start preparing the pasta. Fresh pasta takes less time to cook than dried pasta so it’s the boiling water that takes its time! Unless you’re lucky enough to have a boiling water tap, heat up a pan of water and bring it to the boil. When the water is boiling add in the pasta. I used tortellini parcels with ricotta and soft cheese for mine, but this is where you could experiment. There are many different flavours you could choose from or you could even have a go at making your own!
Cook the pasta for around 3-5 minutes until soft and then drain the water.
5. Mix the pasta with the sauce
Once you have drained the pasta, pour it into the tomato ragu and give it a good mix. The sauce should now be slightly thicker and be a slightly darker colour red.
6. Serve!
You are now ready to serve! Dish up in a couple of wide bowls and sprinkle some cheese if you’re feeling fancy. A handful of parmesan will do nicely but it is equally as good without. Eat, and await rave reviews!
Final Thoughts
This recipe serves 2 people for a good amount of food – I was nicely satisfied after eating this! My favourite part of this dish is the bacon. I think cooking the bacon in the sauce really packs in a lot of flavour! The great thing about this recipe is that is really adaptable. You could swap out the sausages and bacon for something of your choice and you could try different types of pasta if you would prefer not to buy fresh pasta as a treat. This sausage and bacon ragu is a delicious treat for when you haven’t got the effort for a big roast dinner on a Sunday, or a nice easy midweek meal for when you are short on time.