Cheat’s pork sausage ragu with burrata and casarecce

Name: Cheat’s pork sausage ragu with burrata and casarecce
Cook time: 30 min
Yield: 4-6 (with leftover sauce)
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 500g casarecce pasta

Katrina Meynink

June 3, 2024

Silky sausage ragu with creamy burrata cheese.Katrina Meynink

easyTime:< 30 minsServes:4-6 (with leftover sauce)

This is shortcut ragu at its finest. Caramelising the sausage meat and coating it in sun-dried tomato pesto is a shortcut to deep flavour in less than a quarter of the time, making this a superb midweek dinner option and a balm for the soul.

Ingredients

500g casarecce pasta

sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
1kg excellent quality pork and fennel sausages, skins removed, meat chopped
200g store-bought sun-dried tomato pesto
250ml (1 cup) white wine
1.6kg (4 x 400g cans) finely chopped tinned tomatoes
125ml (½ cup) thin cream
1-2 knots burrata
basil leaves (optional), to serve

Method

Step 1
Place a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil and once hot, add the sausage meat and cook until you have lovely caramelisation on every side and the meat is cooked through. Add the tomato pesto and cook until it darkens and coats the meat, and it looks as though the sauce is coming away from the side of the pan a little.
Step 2
Deglaze with the white wine then add the tinned tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cream and season generously with sea salt and pepper. Let it simmer while you cook the pasta.
Step 3
Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions until just al dente. Strain and add to bowls.
Step 4
Top with the ragu sauce then tear the burrata over the top of the bowls. Season with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. If you have a few basil leaves on hand, throw these over the top. Serve.

Tip: Any leftover sauce will freeze superbly for another day.