Like the Italians Do.

# **Like the Italians Do.**## Classic Ragu*This is a classic Italian meat sauce but you can tailor it to your liking by adding a different meat, more veggies, some hot pepper flakes, more wine, etc. This recipe in particular uses sausage but you can use any kind of meat such as ground beef, veal, or maybe even a combination for an extra boost of flavor. However, the real test of skill is to perfect the original recipe first. Serve this ragu sauce over your favorite pasta with some freshly grated parmesan cheese! *

### RecipeThis version of ragu featured sauteed zucchini flower and sausage with homemade gnocchi.Finely chop the vegetables and throw in a saucepan with the olive oil until lucid. Add the sausage and stir until completely browned. Pour the wine and let it evaporate. Now combine the crushed tomatoes. Season the pan with salt, pepper and a few crushed hot red pepper flakes if desired. Add the tied sprigs of herbs and let it slowly simmer for at least 45 minutes. Cook your noodles of choice (or your homemade pasta). Add some of the pasta water you used to cook your noodles in as needed because the sauce can reduce quickly while it’s simmering. Don’t forget to remove the sprigs of herbs before adding the pasta to the pan. See the bottom of the pasta dough recipe for how to serve.

### Ingredients

*1 pound of lean pork sausage, skin removed and cut up*

*6-7 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil*

*1 medium onion*

*1 small celery stalk*

*½ carrot*

*1 garlic clove*

*¼ cup of dry red wine*

*1 can of Italian San Marzano tomatoes (crushed or crush yourself)*

*Salt and pepper*

*One sprig of rosemary, sage, bay leaf and thyme tied together*

*Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (to taste)*

*Crushed hot red pepper flakes (optional)*

## Egg Pasta ### RecipePlace the flour in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the egg yolks and olive oil, stir to combine. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes, or until smooth, elastic and well-blended. If the dough is sticky, dust more flour over a spoonful at a time, continue to knead. Shape into a ball and flatten into a disk; wrap in plastic, set aside for about 15 minutes, allowing it become easier to roll out. Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface again and with a dusted rolling pin flatten and shape the dough into a rectangle.

*Photos by: Meredith Albury*Once it’s thin enough to fit through your pasta machine at the thickest setting, pass it through and repeat the following steps several more times until the dough is smooth and supple: dust the dough, fold in half, keep in a rectangular shape and roll it out thin enough to fit through the machine at the thickest setting again. Starting at the second-to-widest setting, pass the dough through the pasta machine again. Continue that step, making the rollers narrower each time, until the dough reaches the desired thickness. Dust the finished pasta sheets and place on parchment lined baking sheets or cooling racks. Cut the pasta by machine or hand as desired. An easy way is to slice the pasta into thick strips like fettuccine or pappardelle. Make the sauce, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until desired texture is reached, add the pasta to the sauce pan and toss together to fully absorb all the flavors, serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese and enjoy!
### Ingredients

*1 cup (or more as needed) semolina or all-purpose flour plus more for work area (either flour works)*

*8-9 egg yolks (depending on the size)*

*1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil*

*Photo by: Meredith Albury*
*For the best dishes, use fresh ingredients.*

## Tips

When buying canned tomatoes such as for sauces, choose real Italian San Marzano tomatoes and a true Italian brand of tomato paste (if needed).

Always only use extra virgin olive oil, never use plain olive oil. Extra virgin means it’s the oil collected from the very first pressing. It’s the best quality with the richest flavor.

Never add olive oil to the pasta cooking pot. You may think you’re keeping your noodles from sticking together, but it’s doing more harm than good. Olive oil in the pasta pot makes for slippery noodles which have a hard time retaining a sauce on them. It’ll just slide off. Instead, heavily salt the water (which also gives it flavor) and your problem is solved!

*<< Photo by: Meredith Albury*
*Use pieces of plain bread to have an oil tasting and find which brand of extra virgin olive oil you like best! *

Italians always (unless it’s gnocchi) cook their pasta “al dente” and never overcook which makes for soggy, limp noodles. To reach the perfect tenderness, you can gage it yourself by tasting a piece and checking for the moment when the pasta is soft on the outside but still holds a slight bite in the middle. If you’re making pasta from a box, it’ll give you a recommended amount of time to cook the noodles to reach al dente. “Al dente” in Italian literally means “to the tooth”.

Save the starchy pasta water after your noodles are cooked instead of draining the pot. You can use this water to thicken your sauces better while adding a little more flavor than just plain water would do.

To get the best flavor and boldest aroma out of your herbs, chop them up just before you plan to use them.