Ravioli with Spicy Sausage Ragu

Dinner last night was this spicy sausage ragu over ravioli. I didn't make the ravioli, but saved tons of time by using the frozen ones. This made this an easy weeknight meal. Also, this is just enough for two, but you could easily double it. I think the next time I make it, I will skip the tomatoes and tomato paste and just use sauce. We both agreed we might like it with a thinner sauce over the ravioli. I used an Emeril recipe as a base and modified it. It said to use hot Italian sausage, but I already had regular, so I just added more crushed red pepper. It was pretty spicy, so if you don't love spicy, you might want to use less red pepper flakes and then add more as your taste allows. We loved the spice!

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 pound Italian sausage

1/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

3 Tbsp tomato paste

1/4 cup dry red wine

1/4 cup heavy cream

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and cook, stirring, until brown and the fat is rendered, about 4 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, crushed red pepper salt, basil, oregano and black pepper, and bay leaf, and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, wine, cream, and stir well. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thick and the flavors are blended, about 30 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep from getting too thick.

Again, I think we will sub out just a jar of tomato sauce next time (well not the whole jar, but about 2/3 of it) to make it saucier. The flavor was great though!