ITALIAN-STYLE BOEREWORS RAGU
The Italians love a rich tomato sauce with meatballs on pasta – we’ve added a South African twist by using traditional boerewors to create quick meatballs. This basic tomato sauce can even be prepared in bulk to make cooking another supper a breeze. This is true homestyle cooking!
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4
30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, coarsely grated
2 celery stalks with the leaves, chopped
5 ml (1 tsp) fennel seeds (optional)
1 x 50 g sachet (50 ml) tomato paste
200 ml vegetable stock or red wine
2 x 410 g tins chopped tomatoes
100 ml chopped fresh herbs of your choice like Italian parsley, rosemary, thyme, origanum or basil
1 bay leaf
30 ml (2 tbsp) balsamic vinegar
lemon juice, salt and black pepper to taste
500 g good-quality boerewors (sausage)
300 g pasta shape of your choice like linguine and fusilli
grated cheese like a mature white cheddar or pecorino, for serving
fresh origanum or basil leaves for garnish
METHOD
- Heat your AMC 30 cm Gourmet Fry Pan over a medium temperature until the Visiotherm® reaches the first red area. Add half the oil and sauté onions and garlic until softened.
- Add carrots, celery and fennel seeds and sauté for a few more minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and stock or red wine and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat and stir in the tomatoes (rinse the tin with a little water) with the fresh herbs, bay leaf and vinegar. Simmer without a lid over medium heat for 15 minutes until flavourful and slightly thickened. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Remove boerewors from its casing by pushing the minced meat out into a bowl. Roll into 15-20 even-sized meatballs. Place balls into the simmering tomato sauce and cover with a lid. Cook for another 15 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. Turn them over to coat with the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
- While the meatballs are cooking, bring your AMC 24 cm Gourmet High with enough water and some salt added, to the boil.
- Add pasta once the water is rapidly boiling. Boil for about 10-15 minutes or until cooked (‘al dente’), according to the instructions on the packaging.
- Drain pasta and return the warm pasta to the unit. Stir in remaining oil.
- Enjoy meatballs and the sauce on the cooked pasta and top with cheese. Garnish with fresh herbs.
TIP:This ragu will also be delicious on phutu pap or polenta.
Download printable recipe here
Cookware we used
