Spicy sausage ragu

I know, it doesn't look like much. But this ragu is awesome. It's spicy, full of flavor, and pairs perfectly with a dollop of ricotta cheese, or even sour cream or creme fresh. It is even better the next day. Serve it by itself, or serve it with pasta (homemade would be good), make it into lasagna (which is what I am going to do tonight), or eat it on it's own. One thing I love doing with ragu is adding lentils in the end of the cooking, to make it a complete meal in itself. I didn't do thatwith this, because I had other plans for it, but yum. This is good food when you're sick, or when it's cold. 

Spicy sausage ragu

You can use sweet sausage if you don't want it to be spicy, but I love the subtle heat of the sausage. 

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 stalks of celery, sliced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 c mushrooms, sliced 

olive oil

1 1/4 lb hot sausage

1 c red wine

2 c stock or water

2 c milk

2 cans diced or crushed tomatoes (14 oz cans, or one large 28 oz can)

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot (I used my stock pot). Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and pepper, and cook 5-10 minutes until softened. Add mushrooms, and cook until they start to let out their juices, about 5 more minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan into a bowl and set aside. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the pan, and add the sausage, breaking up as you do. Brown the sausage, about 10 minutes, and then pour the meat into a strainer set over a bowl to catch the grease. Return the sausage and vegetables to the pot, discard the grease, and add the wine. Let everything simmer until the wine reduces, another 10 minutes or so. Then add the stock, milk, tomatoes and bay, stir, and let simmer for a few hours, until most of the liquid is reduced. Don't forget to stir occasionally. Serve over good pasta, as is, or with a bit of something creamy like ricotta.