Slow-cooked sausage ragù coats handmade cavatelli pasta in rich tomato sauce scented with fennel and rosemary. Fresh pea and radish salad adds crisp contrast beside the tender meat and creamy ragù. Warm comfort meets bright freshness in every comforting forkful. Slow-cooked sausage ragù cavatelli delivers Sunday satisfaction.
Prep: 30 mins to 1 hour
Cook: over 2 hours
Serves: Serves 4–6
Dietary: Egg-free, Nut-free
By Jessica Filbey
From Saturday Kitchen Recipes
Expect around 680 kcal per serving with protein from sausage, carbs from pasta, moderate fats from cream and oil, balanced by fresh salad fibre.
Equipment
Ingredients
For the sausage ragù
- 2–3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery heart, finely chopped
- ½ fennel bulb, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- few rosemary sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
- few sage sprigs, leaves picked and finely chopped
- 500g/1lb 2oz good-quality sausage meat
- 200ml/7fl oz red wine
- 2 x 400g tins whole plum tomatoes, mashed up
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
- 50–100ml/2–3½fl oz double cream
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Parmesan, freshly grated, to serve
For the pasta
- 400g/14oz durum wheat semolina flour, plus extra for dusting
- 200ml/7fl oz warm water
- salt
For the salad
- 100ml/3½fl oz olive oil
- 150g/5½oz fresh peas, podded and washed
- 10g/⅓oz fresh mint, left whole
- 100g/3½oz baby radishes, sliced
- 4 Little Gem lettuces, trimmed and leaves separated
- 50g/1¾oz pea shoots, leaves picked
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Customise
- Swap sausage meat for Italian pork sausages or spicy chorizo — keeps rich flavour.
- Use gluten-free semolina flour for the pasta when needed; same texture holds.
- Replace fresh peas with frozen petit pois in the salad; still pops nicely.
- No fennel? Extra celery or leek works fine in the ragù base.
Method
Slow-cooked sausage ragù cavatelli makes perfect Sunday comfort. The ragù simmers unattended while pasta rests and salad chills. Time works for you here.
Sausage Ragù (2½ hours mostly hands-off)
- Start the soffritto. Heat 2-3 tbsp olive oil in a casserole over medium heat. Add 1 finely chopped red onion, 1 celery heart and ½ trimmed fennel bulb, all finely chopped. Cook 5-8 minutes until softened. Season lightly with sea salt and black pepper.
- Add aromatics. Stir in 2 finely chopped garlic cloves, rosemary leaves and sage leaves from a few sprigs, all finely chopped. Cook 2-3 minutes more until fragrant. Remove soffritto to a bowl.
- Brown the sausage. Add fresh oil to the pan. Tip in 500g good-quality sausage meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until golden brown all over. Preheat oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 while sausage browns.
- Build the ragù. Return soffritto to pan. Pour in 200ml red wine and bubble 2-3 minutes. Add 2 x 400g tins mashed plum tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, ½ tsp grated nutmeg and ½ tsp chilli flakes. Season, bring to simmer, cover and cook in oven 2 hours. Stir occasionally, add water if drying out.
- Finish the sauce. Stir in 50-100ml double cream after cooking. Adjust seasoning. Ragù improves sitting (make ahead if you like).
Handmade Cavatelli (45 minutes active + resting)
- Make pasta dough. Pulse 400g durum wheat semolina flour and 200ml warm water in food processor with dough hook 6 minutes until smooth. Shape into ball, rest under upturned bowl 30 minutes. (Overlap with ragù cooking.)
- Shape cavatelli. Shape the pieces on a cavatelli board by pushing down on the dough with your thumb so that it curls in on itself and makes little ridged caves that will catch the delicious sauce. Repeat with the rest of the pasta dough and set the cavatelli aside.
Alternatively, if you do not have a cavatelli board, use your thumb to press the pieces into an orecchiette shape.
Pea and Radish Salad (10 minutes)
- Blanch peas. Boil small pan water. Add 150g podded peas until just cooked (1-2 minutes). Plunge whole 10g mint leaves in briefly, then drain peas and mint into bowl with 100ml olive oil. Season.
- Assemble salad. Mix 100g sliced baby radishes, 4 Little Gem lettuce leaves and 50g pea shoots in second bowl. Add warm peas and mint.
- Make dressing. Whisk 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 5 tbsp olive oil until emulsified. Season. Toss through salad just before serving.
Final Assembly (5 minutes)
- Cook pasta. Boil large pan salted water. Cook cavatelli 2-3 minutes until al dente. Drain, reserving some water.
- Combine. Add pasta to ragù with splash cooking water to loosen sauce. Toss to coat.
- Serve beautifully. Divide ragù cavatelli between bowls. Drizzle olive oil, grate over Parmesan generously. Serve salad alongside.
Suggested Wine Pairing
Slow-cooked sausage ragù cavatelli loves medium-bodied reds. Juicy fruit cuts rich tomato creaminess while balancing sausage spice. Three supermarket options under £12.50.
- Terra d’Oro Chianti (£10.99, Sainsbury’s): Cherry brightness and herb notes match rosemary sage perfectly. Classic sausage ragù wine pairing.
- 19 Crimes Cabernet Sauvignon (£9.75, Tesco): Plum depth hugs slow-cooked sausage without overwhelming cavatelli. Reliable red wine for ragù.
- Yellow Tail Shiraz (£7.99, Asda): Blackberry spice complements fennel chilli warmth. Easy wine match for sausage ragù.
This Nutri-Score C calculation derives automatically from the slow-cooked sausage ragù cavatelli ingredients and serves only as a guide.