Sausage Tomato Sauce over Penne
When Robin was growing up, her grandmother made a similar sauce, which they called "gravy" and it was probably also served on a Sunday. We update Nan's sauce with some fresh herbs. Originally served as part of: Sausage Sauce.
- Nanny's Sauce (November 23, 2001)
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound cheesy basil Italian ring sausage (Premio)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 32 ounces canned Tomato Sauce (Del Monte)
- 6 ounces canned Tomato Paste (Contadina)
- sprinkle hot pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon basil flakes
- 3 sprigs just the stems parsley
- to taste salt & pepper
- 1 pound penne pasta
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil (rinsed and dried)
- 1 tablespoon fresh italian leaf parsley (rinsed and dried)
- Pecorino romano cheese (Locatelli)
Instructions
We start by putting a large pot of water on medium heat for the pasta and putting our dutch oven on the stove on medium heat. We put the olive oil into the dutch oven and when hot we add the sausage ring. We brown on all sides, breaking up the ring into large lengths of sausage link to ensure they are as brown as possible. This takes about 8 minutes. We remove the sausage to a plate and lower the heat to low. Using paper towels and our tongs, we sop up most of the sausage fat from the pan and then add the garlic and stir for a minute. Meanwhile, we wipe the cans of tomato sauce and paste with a damp cloth and open all the cans.
We add the sauce and paste and stir well. Then we add the hot pepper flakes, water, bay leaf, onion and garlic powders, basil flakes, parsley stems, and some salt and pepper. Over medium heat, we bring this to a simmer. We reduce the heat, add the browned sausage and continue to simmer, partially covered. We want the sausage to simmer for at least 20 minutes to cook through.
When the water is boiling for the pasta, we add the penne, and some salt, and stir. We cook according to the package directions.
When the pasta is almost done, we add the fresh basil and parsley to the sausage sauce. We drain the pasta when done and add a little sauce to the serving bowl. Before serving the sauce on the side, we remove the bay leaf, garlic cloves, and parsley stems. We top the pasta with sausage sauce with some freshly grated Locatelli (using our microplane grater).
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 lb cheese and basil Italian sausage ring (Premio)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 32 oz canned tomato sauce (Del Monte)
- 6 oz canned tomato paste (Contadina)
- hot pepper flakes (a sprinkle)
- 1½ cups water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ⅛ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp basil flakes
- 3 parsley stems
- salt and pepper
- 1 lb penne
- 1 tsp fresh basil
- 1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley
- Pecorino Romano (Locatelli)
Instructions
Grown-up
Put a large pot of water on medium heat. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium and brown the sausage on all sides, breaking the ring into long pieces, about 8 minutes. Move to a plate.
Lower to low, blot up most of the fat with paper towels and tongs, and stir in the garlic for 1 minute. Wipe the tops of the cans and open them.
Stir in the sauce and paste, then the pepper flakes, water, bay leaf, onion and garlic powders, basil, parsley stems, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium, lower the heat, add the sausage, and simmer partly covered at least 20 minutes, until it’s cooked through.
When the water boils, salt it and cook the penne according to the package.
Add the fresh basil and parsley to the sauce. Drain the pasta and toss with a little sauce. Remove the bay leaf, garlic and parsley stems, and serve the sausage and sauce on the side with freshly grated Romano.