Make-Ahead Italian Sausage and White Bean Ragu

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A thick, savoury tomato ragu with crumbled Italian sausage, creamy cannellini beans and kale. There's no cream or delicate starch in it, so it freezes solid and reheats to exactly what it was — spoon it over pasta, polenta or toast. One pot, twelve ingredients, six dinners banked in the freezer.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb Italian sausages, casings removed
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 14 oz cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 4 cups chopped kale, thick stems removed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large deep pot or Dutch oven over medium-high. Add the sausage meat and break it into small chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook 6-8 minutes, undisturbed for the first 3, until browned in patches.
2. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes until softened, then stir in the garlic and fennel seeds and cook 1 minute more, until fragrant.
3. Stir in the tomato paste and cook it for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot, until it darkens to brick red — this is what keeps the sauce tasting rich after freezing.
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, beans, broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low, partially cover and cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick enough that a spoon dragged through the pot leaves a trail.
5. Stir in the kale and simmer uncovered 5 minutes more, until wilted and tender. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve now over pasta or polenta, with grated Parmesan if you like.
6. TO FREEZE: cool the ragu completely (spread it in a wide dish to speed this up — no more than 2 hours out of the fridge). Divide into portions in zip-top freezer bags or airtight containers, press out the air, label and freeze flat for up to 3 months.
7. TO REHEAT: tip a frozen portion into a saucepan with 2-3 tablespoons of water, cover and set over medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes, breaking it up and stirring every few minutes until steaming hot throughout. From the fridge it takes 6-8 minutes. Microwave option: covered, on high, 5-7 minutes from frozen, stirring halfway.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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