Part of my snow-day prep was to make use of some wonderful sausage from neighbor’s farm. I decided to make a fairly traditional Italian Ragout with the ingredients I had and with a healthier twist.

Having the basics of any savory dish handy; whether it is a soup, stew or curry; is a blessing. I started out with the usual onion, garlic and peppers. This week I had a red pepper. I also had some carrots from another friend’s farm that needed to be used up. Dishes with hearty flavors are really good at hiding any vegetables you may need to use up.

Sausage Ragout with Carrots and Red Pepper

1 pound Sausage

1 large Yellow Onion, diced

3 cloves of Garlic, mined

1/2 Red Pepper, diced

2 Carrots, diced

1 (28 oz) can Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes

1/2 (5 oz) can Tomato Paste

2 teaspoons Dried Basil

2 teaspoons Dried Oregano

1/4 teaspoon Ground Turmeric

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 cup Red Wine

Parsley, chopped (for garnish), optional

Heat a large 5-6 quart deep pan on medium high heat. Add the sausage and brown stirring occasionally. Remove the excess fat in an empty can to be discarded later. Add minced garlic and diced onions to the pan with sausage. Continue to stir until onions begin to brown. While the onions and sausage mixture is browning together, place the diced carrots in a microwave-safe bowl, cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes to soften the carrots.

Add diced red pepper and softened, diced carrots to the sausage mixture. Stir well and let cook for 3-5 minutes, until the pepper and carrots cook well.

Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to the pan. Mix well. Add basil, oregano, turmeric and salt. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. All the flavors will come together. Add red wine and mix well. Heat through until bubbly on the edges. If serving immediately, add chopped parsley. I served it over Zoodles (zucchini noodles).

Ragout can be stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

These make ahead dishes make weeknights so much easier to plan. Go ahead use up any vegetables you need to in this dish. I will share a chili recipe in the next blog which can also hide any veggies well.