This Is How to Make Spicy Ragu Sauce Over Pasta

A Simple Ragu Sauce That's Got a Good Kick

My wife found this spicy ragu sauce recipe in the NY Times. We were surprised by the spiciness of the dish but enjoyed it immensely.

What is Ragu?

By definition, a ragu is a sauce made with ground meat, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and a few other ingredients depending on who's preparing it. Ragu's are typically cooked "low and slow," meaning at low temperature for a long time.

This ragu takes less time, about 45 minutes, and still has the slow-cooked flavor because of the spices added to the dish.

Let's Look at the Ingredients

Meat Choices - we used ground beef as the recipe suggests, but you can substitute ground pork or ground turkey if you have some leftovers from Thanksgiving. Italian sausage meat works too, but I would stay away from spicy Italian sausage and stick with sweet sausage.

Pasta Choices - the recipe calls for broken lasagna noodles that we used (not the no-cook noodles), but I would serve this spicy ragu sauce on penne, rigatoni, and even spaghetti.

Heat Choices - sambal oelek is the spice of choice and we happened to have some from another recipe we prepared. Sambal oelek is Sambal oelek is an Indonesian chili sauce made from different types of chili peppers combined with garlic, ginger, sugar, scallions, and lime juice.

It is becoming more available in supermarkets because of the increased popularity of Indonesian foods. However, if you can't find it or don't want to go out just for this ingredient, you can substitute crushed red chili flakes, chili pepper, sriracha, or gochujang.

Wine Choices - use a full-bodied wine, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Zinfandel. And remember, never cook with a wine you wouldn't drink by itself.

Topping Choices - the recipe calls for ricotta cheese, toasted fennel seeds, and some lemon zest curls. We used all three of these toppings, but I could see substituting creme fraiche for the ricotta cheese.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Spicy Ragu Sauce

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta, ragu

Servings: 4

Equipment

• 1 Dutch Oven or heavy-bottomed pot

Ingredients

• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling at the end
• 1 medium onion sliced thin
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 1 pound ground beef substitute ground lamb, turkey or venison if you like
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons sambal oelek more if you want it even spicier
• ¼ cup red wine
• 28 ounces whole peeled tomatoes with juices
• 8 ounces lasagna noodles not no-cook, broken into 1 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 lemon zested

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
• Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. When hot, add ¼ cup of extra-virgin olive oil to the pot.
• Add garlic and cook for 5 minutes when the oil is hot. Do not let the garlic burn. If the temperature is too hot, reduce it to medium-low.
• Add the ground beef, break it apart with a wooden spoon, season with salt & pepper and cook until browned but not cooked through—about 7 minutes.
• Add the sambal oelek or other hot sauce, and stir.
• Add the red wine. This will deglaze the pan and allow you to scrape up any brown bits (fond) from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
• Add the tomatoes and all of the juices. Using a fork or potato masher, break the tomatoes into pieces. Cover and cook for 30 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down, and the chopped beef is cooked through. It is essential to stir occasionally.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta.
• The pasta noodles will take about 8 - 12 minutes to cook to al dente. So after the sauce has cooked for about 20 minutes, add the broken lasagna noodles to the boiling water and cook to al dente.
• While the sauce and pasta are cooking, toast the fennel seed in a small frying pan over low heat until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove the seeds and crush them on a sturdy cutting board with the bottom of a heavy skillet.
• When the pasta is done, drain and add to the ragu sauce and toss to coat the pasta.

Serving

• Line four plates or bowls, add the pasta and ragu onto each plate, spoon a dollop of ricotta cheese on top, and sprinkle each plate with lemon zest and cracked fennel.
• You can season with salt & pepper and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, but I prefer to let my guest add what they like.

Some of My Favorite Pasta Recipes