Italian Sausage Ragu with Creamy Polenta

Serves 6

Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

500g hot Italian sausages

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 long red chilli, finely chopped

100g butter, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

750g crushed tomatoes 

1 cup port wine

½ cup white wine

1 bunch of oregano, leaves picked 

1 bunch of basil, leaves picked

1 bunch of thyme, leaves picked

1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the Polenta

4 cups chicken stock or water

1 cup polenta

50g butter 

1 cup cream

100g mozzarella cheese, diced

100g parmesan cheese, grated 

Method

Remove sausage from casings and tear into pieces. 

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add pieces of the sausage and brown them, try not to break them up too much, they should resemble meatballs. 

Add the onion, bay leaf, garlic, chilli, butter, basil, oregano and thyme. Sauté to melt down the butter and season with salt and pepper. 

Reduce the heat to medium, then add port, white wine and tomatoes. Stir to combine, then allow the mixture to simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Once finished, stir in the parsley and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring the stock to simmer in another pot. Gently whisk in all the polenta. Keep on whisking to avoid lumps. 

Once the polenta starts to thicken up, place the lid on. Allow it to cook on low heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the polenta is cooked through.

Add butter, cream and cheeses to the polenta. Remove from heat, stir until the cheese and butter have melted and are well combined. Set aside.

To serve, spread 1-2 ladles of polenta onto a serving platter and create a hole in the middle. Gently place the sausage ragu in middle of polenta and enjoy.