This is Sunday sauce reimagined for the weeknight. It’s what Chef Boyardee wants to grow up to be, free from the constraints of the can and after a trip to Korea. Doubling up on big, bold ingredients like seasoned fresh sausage and spicy gochujang delivers souped-up flavor in reasonable time. Use a top-notch can of tomatoes for the smoothest taste—Sclafani, Mutti, or Bianco DiNapoli are all excellent choices.
If you’re not making the scissor-cut noodles, you can use 12 oz. of dried pasta instead. A short shape, either tubular or with folds to trap the sauce, such as rigatoni or orecchiette, works well.
This recipe is part of Make Your Own Noodles. Check out all of the recipes—plus expert tips, handy guides, and more.
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What you’ll need
Joyce Chen Unlimited Kitchen Scissors
$25 $20 At Amazon
Dutch Oven
$100 $94 At Amazon
Slotted Spoon
$16 $14 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$8 $7 At Amazon
Gochujang
$13 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Dough
Ragù and assembly
Preparation
Dough
Step 1
Mix 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ½ cup plus 1 Tbsp. water in a large bowl with your hands until a shaggy dough comes together. Knead in bowl, incorporating any loose bits, until dough forms into a smooth ball and no longer sticks to bowl, about 2 minutes. If dough is not coming together, mix in more water ½ tsp. at a time; if dough is too sticky, mix in more flour 1 tsp. at a time. Cover bowl with a damp paper towel or plastic wrap and let dough rest at room temperature while you prepare the ragù.
Do ahead: Dough can be made 1 day ahead; wrap tightly and chill. Bring to room temperature before using.
Ragù and Assembly
Step 2
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil in large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high. Cook 1 lb. spicy Italian sausage, casings removed, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, 6–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a plate, leaving fat behind.
Step 3
Add 3 large shallots, halved, thinly sliced, 6 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped, ¼ cup gochujang, and 1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt to pot. Cook, stirring often, until shallots are softened and gochujang is slightly darkened in color, 6–8 minutes. Stir in one 15-oz. can crushed tomatoes, 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½" pieces, 1 tsp. dried thyme, and 1 tsp. sugar. Return sausage along with any accumulated juices to pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fat pools on surface of sauce, 30–40 minutes.
Step 4
Bring a medium pot of water to a simmer. Coat a pair of kitchen shears with vegetable oil and snip off ½" pieces of dough directly into simmering water. When all of dough has been snipped, increase heat and bring water to a boil. Cook noodles, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until most have floated to the surface, about 3 minutes. Drain, reserving ½ cup noodle cooking liquid.
Step 5
Stir noodles into ragù along with reserved noodle cooking liquid, 2 oz. Parmesan, finely grated, and remaining 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into ½" pieces. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring vigorously, until butter is melted, cheese is combined, and sauce coats noodles, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Step 6
Divide noodles among shallow bowls; top with more Parmesan.
