Quick Sausage Ragu with Gemelli

Serves 4

Pan IconWHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Full-bodied, traditional Italian ragus are just what you want on a cold day, but they typically have to simmer on the stovetop for hours. We make a similarly rich but much speedier sauce by bolstering canned tomatoes with wine, garlic, onion, basil, and Parmesan. For the meat component, we keep things simple but flavorful, relying on Italian sausage (rather than the usual ground beef) that we remove from its casings. We love the twisted pasta shape called gemelli in this recipe because it catches the meaty sauce well, but any tubular or molded pasta, such as ziti, penne, or fusilli, will work.

1

tablespoon olive oil

1

onion, chopped fine

3

garlic cloves, minced

1

pound Italian sausage, casings removed

½

cup dry white wine

1

(28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1

pound gemelli

Salt and pepper

¼

cup shredded fresh basil

1

ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (½ cup), plus extra for serving

1. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add sausage and cook, breaking into small pieces with wooden spoon, until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

2. Add wine and cook until evaporated, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and bring to simmer. Cook until sauce has thickened, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. While sauce cooks, add gemelli and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, drain gemelli, then return it to pot.

4. Add sauce, basil, and Parmesan to pasta and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve with extra Parmesan.