Ingredients for approximately 500 g of sauce:330 g fresh Tuscan pork sausages1 carrot (55 g)1 stalk of celery30 g onion1 clove of garlic3 sage sage leaves1 sprig of rosemary1 bay leaf½ dried chilli pepper, according to taste5 g fennel seeds18 g tomato paste4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil20 g grated pecorino cheese age 12 months (or Parmigiano)90 ml water salt pepper
Clean the onion, celery and carrot and chop them together. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pan; when it’s hot, add the chopped vegetables together with the garlic cut into small pieces. Allow to brown slowly without burning. When the vegetables are golden brown, add the sausages, which you have skinned and broken up coarsely by hand, and stir to let the flavours mingle. When the sausage meat is cooked evenly, add the chopped herbs, the chilli pepper in pieces, the fennel seeds and, lastly, the tomato paste dissolved in water and the grated pecorino cheese. Season with salt and pepper, stir well, cook for another 10 minutes and... the sauce is ready!
This sauce is fragrant, thick and full of flavour, delicious on crostini (small slices of toasted bread previously drizzled with olive oil) for an “aperitivo” or as a tasty starter, it can also be used on a pizza mixed with tomato passata and topped with mozzarella and/or diced fresh pecorino cheese. It’s good on pasta too, in particular short shapes like penne rigate, rigatoni and strozzapreti, but also spaghetti, pici and pappardelle, mixed with other sauces such as Sugo Bombolino, Pomarola, Sugo all’arrabbiata (if you like things spicy), as well as being perfect for lasagna and pasta bakes.