6 links of sweet Italian Sausage

2-3 T oil

1 large onion, medium dice

2 stalks of celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 16-ounce can of tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1. Remove sausage from casings and chop raw meat into small chunks; keep chopping as you brown the sausags. The sausage meat “chunks” and your goal is to break it up,  but don’t get too obsessed with this because in the end the entire recipe will be pureed.
2. In a cold frying pan with a lid, combine the oil, onions, celery, carrots and garlic and “sweat”, over low heat until soft and flavorful.  Add to sausage meat and stir to combine.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs and continue to break up the sausage meat to help the herbs & tomatoes penetrate and cook slowly for 30 minutes.
4. Cool until easy to handle, then puree in a food processor or a Vitamix blender.

Serve over well-done linguine or a white bean mash. This is another picture that’s not nearly as appetizing as the dish itself really is. It’s absolutely scrumptious, so do try it!