Sausage Shroom Ragu with Malfatti

I don’t play favorites with my recipes, but this sauce is something I’ve made for many family holidays. Real talk, both adults and kids will love it, and it’s simple to make. You could even remove the sausage and make it vegetarian, but seriously, you need pork in your life. Toss in any pasta, but if you’re feeling hella extra, make some lemony malfatti like I did.

Ingredients (Malfati)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (plus more for dusting)

• 2 cups ricotta, drained

• 1 large egg

• 6 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano

• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Zest of 1 lemon

Steps (Malfatti)

• Dust a baking sheet with all-purpose flour. You’re going to store your malfatti on this.

• In a food processor, place ricotta, egg, parmesan, and salt and pulse to combine. Transfer mixture a large bowl

• Sift in flour and mix until combined, but do not overmix or you’ll end up with a tough dumpling.

• Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Dust your board or counter, and roll each piece into a rope 3/4” thick.

• Flour the edge of a bench-scraper or butter knife, and but the rope into 1” length dumplings.

• Place on your floured baking sheet, wrap it in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready. You could also freeze these if you want to use it later.

Ingredients

• 1 pound of malfatti or any other pasta

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 pound Italian sausage

• 1/2 cup of onion, chopped

• 8 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 pound sliced mushrooms

• 1/2 cup white wine

• 1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want)

• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (plus more for garnish)

• 1/4 cup chopped green onions or chives (plus a little more for garnish)

• Kosher salt and black pepper

Steps (Mushroom and Sausage Ragu)

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.

2. Heat EVOO on a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage. When the sausage is browned, toss in the onion and sauté until softened. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and sauté for an additional minute (do NOT burn the garlic!).

3. Drop your malfatti or pasta to cook shy of al dente (usually a minute before the package says)

4. Turn the skillet heat up to high. Add in the white wine and let it reduce by half. Add in the broth and let it reduce by half. Add in the mascarpone cheese, and let it melt into a sauce. Add in the parm and green onions. Set aside until pasta is done.

5. Drain the malfatti/pasta and toss it with the sauce, making sure you coat everything.

6. Plate in a bowl, garnish with more parm and green onions, devour, and loosen your belt.