Become a Master of Sugo
The Italians are certainly right about something: there is something infinitely comforting in a big bowl of hot pasta. and while we all admit, a simple plate of buttered noodles was all you really wanted to eat when you were sick, sometimes we crave a richer and more filling dish. Thank goodness for the versatility of pasta sauces! In the past we have virtually traveled to the historical Italian restaurant in the Langhe, Italy, Trattoria Risorgimento, to learn how to make their Tajarin al Ragù di Salsiccia (Tagliatelle with a Sausage Sauce), (and more recently their mushroom pasta sauce), we are super excited to have snagged the recipe for their world famous sugo. What better recipe to pull from a local favorite eating spot in Italy’s mecca of culinary delights than Trattoria Risorgimento’s sugo. It is so good that often their customers order multiple servings of their hand-cut tajarin pasta with sugo, and have it in place of dessert.
But, sugo? Before we called it a ‘ragù’, in English we call it a ‘sauce’. Yet, pop into google translate ‘sauce’ and salsa pops up.
How can there be so many different words for one simple recipe? Well, let’s chalk that up to language differences, regional differences… and well, read on to find out.
Sugo… Salsa… Sauce… What’s the Difference?
Sugo, can dress a pasta like these thin Tajarin noodles, served with a grating of fresh parmesan.
Sugo sauce… tomayto tomahto… well not quite. There are some subtle differences between the two, even though in English we tend to lump everything under a broad ‘sauce’ category of foods, dressings, and condiments. In Italy, we see two main groups of ‘foods’ grouped under what we Americans call ‘sauce’: sugo is one, salsa is another. The two are distinct, and while both can be used to dress a pasta, they have different characteristics.
What is sugo? A sugo is something (as noted before, what English speakers would call a sauce) that is used as an integral part of a dish to dress or modify the base of the dish. It is usually a component that requires some form of cooking or more preparations, like one would need with a pasta sauce meat based. To make a good sugo you don’t necessarily need filet mignon either, in fact you can make a great pasta sauce ground beef or pork based (like the recipe from Trattoria Risorgimento below).
Instead, a salsa is generally considered less complex and easier to make, such as using simply as a pasta sauce tomato puree or tomato sauce. A salsa requires less cooking time and preparation, someimes even prepared at the moment, and is generally viewed as an accompaniment to a dish. It is something that the dish can survive without, but its addition adds extra flavors or textures. Think like mayo on a sandwich, or a dip with chips more than a pasta dressing. However, it is true that some pastas can be served with a salsa rather than a sugo, like potato gnocchi dressed with a salsa di gorgonzola (blue cheese sauce) or the Langhe staple agnolotti del plin con la salsa di burro e salvia (small pinched ravioli with a butter and sage sauce).
As one last note, regional vocabulary and dialects (read more about Italian dialects and regionality HERE) can also factor into what certain sugo or sauces are called. For example, in the Langhe it is very common for the meat based sugo featured in this article to be called ‘Ragú’, and in other parts it can be called like a pasta sauce bolognese.
Tips and Tricks for a Sugo to make Nonna swoon
“I’ll be honest… sometimes when I make a big batch I will eat just a big bowl of sugo… no pasta, just sugo. It’s so good I can’t help myself! Put a little chili oil in it and its like a spicy chili bowl’ says American-working-in-Italy Vero Chef Jacqueline Mitchell laughing. Ok, so maybe that tip will make nonna faint, and not in a good way. But all joking aside, the recipe she shares with us today comes directly from the notebook of the Nonna in the Italian restaurant Trattoria Risorgimento where Jacqueline works in Northern Italy.
A heaping plate of tajarin (or thin tagliatelle noodles) with sugo pairs wonderfully with a Barbera d alba.
As mentioned earlier, you can also check out Trattoria Risorgimento’s alternate version of sugo, Tajarin al Ragù di Salsiccia, which when made with just sausage, can be considered a sugo for every night, and a sugo recipe easy to prepare on shorter notice because as we will see, part of this main sugo recipe’s flavor comes from an extended cooking time.
There are many sugo recipes in the world and, like a lot of Italian cuisine, every family will have their own twist, modification and tradition with their family’s sugo recipes. However, as a baseline and basic sugo recipe, we find that the beauty of this sugo is its richness and depth of flavor. The mix of ground meats add different layers of fats, textures, and flavors that, with the extended simmering, all blend together into a seamless sugo-experience. The same goes for the tomatoes: by mixing a little bit of of chunks (chopped tomatoes), blended smooth (tomato sauce), and concentrated flavor (tomato paste) one can modify to their pleasure the redness, depth of color, and flavors of the sugo.
But as Jacqueline says: ‘The key to a great sugo is practice: keep playing with your combinations, cook times, and pasta shapes to find how you like it best. True as ever here that practice makes perfect, but at least this basic sugo is a pleasure to eat as you try new methods!’
One last pro-tip: try beforehand to make your own homemade broth (recipe HERE). Using it in your sugo recipes will add even more deliciousness!
Need a vegetarian sugo? This recipe has been successfully created using a meat-replacement such as tofu, browned and broken up in the same manner as the meat. With tofu, you don’t necessarily have to leave the sugo to simmer quite as long, too.
And Your Glass? What wine should be paired with this sugo?
What should you drink when thinking about paring wine and food like this sugo? Well, pulling from our previous experience talking about wine and food pairing techniques, we have many considerations to take into account with this particular sugo recipe. A natural choice would be to pair this classic Langhe recipe with a classic Langhe wine: the Barbera d Alba, like this one from Aldo Clerico. Aged in a little bit of oak, this barbera wine is bit bolder than your typical langhe barbera, making it a great pairing with this rich sugo. In general, we find that a grape like barbera has a lot of potential when pairing with sugos, especially like this one. Barbera has typically a nice acidity, but is low in tannins, so with a sugo like this containing lots of flavorful fats and mouth-filling richness, it balances well. Barbera can even pair well with a simpler sugo (or salsa) made with just a little tomato and basil.
Barberas come in many shapes and sizes, but as we said, in general they go great with food and sugo recipes. That is why when we earlier made a sugo mushroom based, we loved to pair it with the Babera d’Asti from Ivaldi in the Monferrato (try that vegetarian sugo recipe HERE). But, if you really want to do some wine tasting, try comparing and contrasting all the barbera grape has to offer! While Aldo Clerico’s Barbera d’Alba spends time in oak, you can step the structure up a notch and try a Nizza DOCG from Ivaldi, where the barbera takes on essentially a riserva like quality thanks to years of aging. Lastly, go super natural with an old vine barbera from Case Corini, Barla. Packed full of fruits, this low intervention wine also spends some time aging in barrels, helping with its overall complexity.
Tasting Time
Now’s the time to put all this theory into practice. Grab a pot, a glass, and a bottle of Barbera d’Alba and try your hand at crafting a delicious sugo! Not sure what pasta to serve with this sugo? Try a homemade egg based pasta (typical from the Langhe, Italy) like super thin tajarin or slightly thicker lasagnette. Buon appetito e cin cin!
Sugo - Classic Pasta Sauce Meat Based
Cooking and Prep Time: 2-3 Hours
Ingredients:
1 Onion, 2 Carrots, 2 Celery Stalks
1 Optional Garlic Clove
1 pound Ground Beef
½ pound Ground Pork and ½ pound Sausage
2 cups Red Wine
32 oz Canned Chopped Tomatoes
16 oz Tomato Sauce and 8 oz Tomato Paste
¼ cup Basil
1 teaspoon Rosemary and 1 teaspoon Thyme
Qb Salt
Qb Broth
To Serve:
Cooked pasta of your choosing like tajarin or lasagnette
Grated parmesan cheese
Suggested Wine Pairings:
Aldo Clerico Barbera
Procedure:
1. Finely chop the carrot, celery, onion, optional garlic and sauté all until soft in a spoon of oil in a pan. Remove the sausage from the casing, and mix it with the ground beef and pork. Add the meat mixture to the pan and stir to crumble the meat. Once browned, add the wine to deglaze the pan, then add some broth to prevent it from burning.
2. Add your canned tomatoes and tomato sauce and mix well. Add the tomato paste, again mixing well. Lastly add enough broth to make the whole sugo looser, and a little bit of broth still floats on top, bubbling.
3. Mince finely rosemary, thyme, and sage then sprinkle over the pot. Add your salt and stir well.
4. Leave to simmer for at least 2-3 hours, stirring and adding broth as needed so it doesn’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. When cooked, remove from heat and add chopped basil, stirring well.
5. Place in airtight containers and heat up before serving over your favorite pasta with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
N.B. This recipe is courtesy of Trattoria Risorgimento in Treiso, Italy.
What Wine to Pair with a plate of Pasta and Sugo Sauce?
