Chef Stefano Secchi
A southern Italian ragu bianco built on pork shoulder sausage and prosciutto, slow-cooked with an emulsified soffritto bianco and Parmigiano rinds for up to 10 hours. Finished with broccoli rabe, Calabrian chili, and cortecce pasta — a shape designed to carry the ragu.
Scale note: This recipe is written for 2kg bulk pork sausage — a restaurant-scale batch. Scale down proportionally as needed. The soffritto and stock quantities are approximate, as the ratios matter more than exact weights at this scale.
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Bulk pork shoulder sausage (see note) | 2 kg |
| Prosciutto di Parma, 24-month | 1 kg |
| Neutral oil (sunflower) | as needed |
Sausage seasoning (if making from scratch)
Method
Why prosciutto? The 24-month cure adds a layer of salt, umami, and rendered fat richness that lifts the whole ragu. Think of it the way prosciutto works alongside mozzarella — it’s pure elevation.
Why bulk sausage? Removing the casing is tedious at volume and adds nothing. Buy or make it in bulk for a cleaner result.
| Ingredient | Quantity (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Yellow onion, roughly chopped | 300 g |
| Shallot, roughly chopped | 300 g |
| Green onion (scallion), roughly chopped | 150 g |
| Celery (stalks + leaves), roughly chopped | 150 g |
| Extra virgin olive oil | generous — enough to emulsify |
Equal parts yellow onion and shallot form the base. The green onion and celery are supporting players. The celery leaves are just as important as the stalks — don’t skip them.
Method
Secchi’s pro tip: Make a large batch of soffritto and freeze it in ice cube trays. Pop out a cube whenever you need a head start on a ragu or salsa pomodoro.
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Soffritto bianco (from above) | full batch |
| Sausage & prosciutto mix (from above) | 3 kg |
| White wine | ~900 ml (almost a full bottle) |
| Chicken stock, hot | ~1.5–1.7 litres (just over half the volume of the meat) |
| Parmigiano Reggiano rinds | a generous handful, tied in cheesecloth |
Method
The long cook is non-negotiable. The gelatin from the stock, the fat from the pork, and the rinds slowly give the ragu its body and depth. The parm rinds in particular add something that is almost impossible to replicate any other way.
Cortecce is a pressed, ridged pasta from Calabria — wider than cavatelli, pressed with four fingers rather than two or three. The divots are what make it perfect for this ragu.
| Ingredient | Ratio |
|---|---|
| Semolina rimacinata (fine-ground durum) | 2 parts by volume |
| Doppio zero (00) flour | 1 part by volume |
| Hot water | as needed |
Method
Use only a light dusting of flour when rolling. Too much loose flour sits on top of the dough rather than integrating and causes a gummy texture on the finished pasta.
Per portion (scales up as needed)
| Ingredient | Notes |
|---|---|
| Garlic, thinly sliced | mandolin-thin so it melts into the sauce |
| Fresh Calabrian chili | to taste |
| Extra virgin olive oil | for sautéing and finishing |
| Broccoli rabe, blanched | bitterness balances the fat |
| Cortecce, cooked to 75% | finishes in the pan |
| Ragu bianco | generous |
| Pasta water (starchy) | a ladle or two |
| Parmigiano Reggiano, grated | a lot |
| Finishing EVOO | for sheen |
Method
The pasta water is the glue. It does two jobs: finishes cooking the pasta and glazes the sauce. The sheen you’re looking for is the sign everything has emulsified properly.
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Brown sausage | ~20 min |
| Mix sausage + prosciutto | 10 min |
| Make & cook soffritto | ~20 min |
| Reduce white wine | ~10 min |
| Braise ragu | 8–10 hours |
| Make & rest pasta dough | 30 min rest + rolling |
| Assembly per order | ~5 min |
The following notes are drawn from Chef Secchi’s own words describing this dish and his approach.
On the sausage:
“The more surface area, the more Maillard reaction you have in the actual ragu at the end of the day.”
Browning the sausage in a flat sheet rather than crumbling it into a pot is a deliberate choice. The fond left behind in the pan is equally deliberate — it forms the flavor base of the soffritto step that follows.
On the soffritto:
“One of the big secrets at Massara and Rezdora is that we blend it until it’s fully emulsified. And so when it melts into the ragu, you don’t even know it’s there.”
The blended soffritto is a signature move across both of Secchi’s restaurants. It disappears into the sauce while providing structural depth of flavor that a roughly chopped soffritto cannot. He freezes excess in ice cube trays for fast weeknight cooking.
On the long cook: The ragu cooks from roughly 10 AM until service at 5 PM — eight to ten hours. This isn’t fussy technique; it’s patience. The gelatin from the chicken stock sets into the sauce, the fat redistributes, and the Parmigiano rinds slowly dissolve, adding a funkiness and body that can’t be shortcut.
On the pasta shape: Cortecce is a shape Secchi describes as disappearing from menus. Wider than cavatelli, pressed with four fingers, the deep ridges and divots hold pieces of sausage inside each fold. “You have the Calabrian chili, the garlic, the sausage inside. It’s the best medium, the best way to transport the ragu into your mouth.”
On laminating pasta dough:
“Laminating is when you fold over, just like you would have those layers in a croissant. So you’ll get the bite in of the texture when you laminate the dough like this.”
At both Rezdora and Massara, all pasta doughs are laminated through the machine for al dente texture. It’s one of the small steps that separates restaurant-quality fresh pasta from what most people make at home.
On the balance of the dish:
“You have the spiciness of the Calabrian chili. You have the richness of the sauce and ragu. You have the bitterness of the broccoli rabe, the Parmigiano, the olive oil. It’s like southern Italy to a T.”
Every element earns its place: the fat of the sausage, the cut of the wine reduction, the bitterness of the broccoli rabe, the umami of the parm. It is a study in balance, not just a heavy ragu.
On accessibility: Despite the complexity and scale of the restaurant production, Secchi insists the dish is replicable at home. He used to make versions of this ragu in college — big pots for late-night gatherings after going out. “You just have the best ingredients you can get your hands on and then yeah, you’re off the races.”
Massara — New York City Chef Stefano Secchi