Guest Post from Ursula Lauper
I’m not sure what possessed me to cook up a batch of Italian ragu pasta sauce on a heat advisory day in July…
Maybe it had something to do with seeing a package of delicious Healing Pastures Farm sweet Italian sausage when I stuck my head in the freezer to cool off.
While I may be crazy, I’m certainly not stupid. There was NO WAY I was going to turn on the stove even to sauté an onion, let alone to simmer a pot of sauce for three hours. Instant Pot to the rescue!
I had everything prepped in under 20 minutes. I hit the ON button and was free to stick my head back in the freezer while the pressure cooker did the rest.
The recipe is super flexible and pretty much impossible to mess up. This time I threw in a chopped red pepper and some black olives, as well as some fresh basil at the end. I left out the wine because I didn’t have any. It’s equally delicious without the milk/cream if dairy isn’t your thing.
Serve with your favorite pasta or enjoy it plain as a hearty stew. The finished sauce freezes beautifully, so you’ll be able to make a tasty lasagna when it’s 30 below and you’re looking for an excuse to turn the oven on for 2 hours. Those days will be here soon enough!
BASE RECIPE:
1 lb Healing Pastures Farm Italian pork sausage (sweet or hot)
1 lb Brick Chapel Enterprises ground beef
1 large onion
2 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes (with liquid)
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup dry wine or water
1/2 cup milk or cream
DIRECTIONS:
1. Set the Instant Pot to sauté (medium heat) and brown the meat.
2. Add the chopped veggies, tomatoes, salt, and wine or water and stir everything together.
3. Close the lid and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes.
4. Allow the pressure to release naturally (about another 20 minutes).
5. Stir in the milk/cream, season to taste, and enjoy!