RIGATONI WITH RAGÙ AND SAUSAGES

Our hero Anthony Bourdain is unfortunately mainly found abroad. Luckily, his book Appetizers has been translated into Dutch. As the title of the book says: It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This. 

The book contains all the dishes he himself enjoys eating and preparing for family and friends. The preparation time for the recipe with rigatoni, ragù and sausages may seem long, but as soon as it’s in the oven, you can flop down on the sofa with a glass of wine. Bourdain says this about his recipe:

I’ve always been annoyed that I’m not an Italian-American. Do you know that scene from Saturday Night Fever, in which Tony Manero sits at the dinner table with his family? The shouting and smacking? That seemed like something I would have enjoyed.

At our house, speaking with your hands was not allowed, and raising your voice beyond a civilised conversational volume was most definitely not appreciated. Smacking was out of the question, and wiping your plate clean with a piece of bread – or being overly physical with food in general – was absolutely not something my mother approved of.

This Italian-American-Jersey classic, inspired by the Neapolitan method of turning a bony, mediocre-quality piece of meat into something incredibly delicious and stretching it over two courses, is the fulfilment of all my youthful desires.

Method

Heat the oven to 150 degrees and season the oxtail with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy lidded casserole over medium heat. Brown the vertebrae and oxtail pieces all over, working in batches if necessary so the pan is not too crowded. Using tongs, transfer the browned pieces to a plate to catch the juices. Brown the sausages all over as well and set them aside.

Once you are done with the meat, add the onions to the pan and fry, stirring with a wooden spoon, until browned; scrape the bottom to loosen the browned bits. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt to draw out moisture.

Add the garlic, followed 1 minute later by the tomato purée, oregano and chilli flakes, and fry for a few minutes, until the tomato purée is dark and begins to stick to the pan. Deglaze with the red wine and reduce by half.

Add the stock, tomatoes and bay leaf. Wrap the herb sprigs in cheesecloth and tie them together as a bouquet garni. If you don’t have cheesecloth, you can also tie the herbs together with kitchen twine. Return the oxtail and bones to the pan, season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and place it in the oven for 2.5 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven, add the browned sausages and return to the oven for another 30 minutes. The ragù should be deliciously thick and silky. Remove the bouquet garni from the pan and keep the sauce and sausages warm.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni until al dente according to the instructions on the packet. Drain the rigatoni in a colander, return it to the empty, hot pan and toss for about 30 seconds over medium heat, to let it steam off and prevent it from sticking to the pan. Dress the rigatoni with the ragù, without drowning it in sauce. Serve the pasta with the extra sauce and Parmigiano-Reggiano separately.

Image: © Bobby Fisher

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This

Anthony Bourdain
€ 29.99
Carerra culinair