Sausage & Leek Rigatoni Bolognese

Sausage & Leek Rigatoni Bolognese





​Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 2 + Hours

Yields: 4 + Servings

WHAT YOU NEED

• 400g Dry Rigatoni Pasta
• 2 Tbsp. EVOO
• 1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
• 3 cloves Garlic, crushed & minced
• 5 sprigs Thyme, leaves removed
• 2 Leeks, halved and sliced
• 2 Carrots, peeled & diced
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 4 x Beyond Meat Hot Italian Sausages
• Handful Fresh Basil, torn / thinly sliced
• 1 heaping Tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 C White Wine
• 1 C + President's Choice Plant-Based Chikn Broth
• 796ml Whole San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1 x Hard Cheese Rind
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Dried Oregano
• 1/3 C Whipping Cream, room temperature
• 1/2 Tsp. + Himalayan Salt
• Cracked Pepper
• G A R N I S H - Fresh Parsley, Fresh Basil, Grana Padano 

DIRECTIONS

• Begin heating the EVOO, butter, garlic, pepper flakes, thyme, and 1/2 tsp. dried oregano, in a 12" or larger skillet set to just about medium heat. Once heated, stir and let everything sizzle together for 30+ seconds without burning. Next, add the leek, carrot, pepper, and celery, along with a generous hit of both salt and pepper, stir, and cook those veggies down for 6 -7 minutes.
• Push the veggies to the out border of the skillet and crumble in your sausage in the center. Let the sausage brown up a bit, making sure to flip / stir to brown all sides. Once it's lightly browned, season with salt, push the sausage aside, and drop in your tomato paste and basil. Let that sizzle for 30 seconds or so before stirring everything together and continuing to cook another 2 - 3 minutes. Pour in the wine and let it simmer until almost entirely reduced.​

• Now, pour in the broth, and tomatoes, breaking up the whole tomatoes in the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil and once boiled, add the cheese rind, bay leaf, 1/2 tsp. salt, a few more cranks of pepper, and the remaining dried oregano. Stir, reduce to medium low / a simmer, and cook for 2 hours. During this process, add additional broth if the bolognese gets too thick. This will allow the sauce to continue to simmer and develop flavour. You may have to do this a couple of times during the cooking process. 
• With 30 minutes remaining, bring a large pot of cold, heavily salted water to a boil and add your rigatoni pasta. Cook to abut a minute before al dente.
• At this point, remove the cheese rind & bay leaf, fold the room temperature cream in to the bolognese, followed by straining your noodles in to the sauce directly from the boiling water. Take a little ladle full of your boiling pasta water and drizzle over the pasta in the skillet as you toss to coat the noodles evenly. Continue to stir and cook until pasta is al dente / cooked to your liking. Add additional pasta water if needed, taste, and adjust the salt / pepper to your liking.
• For service, serve up your pasta garnished with a generous amount of grana padano and fresh parsley and / or basil. ENJOY!

HAPPY VEG