Sausage and Fennel Pasta

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This is a super hearty meal guaranteed to fill the emptiest bellies! Delicious Spicy Sausage cooked in a Creamy Sauce and flavored with the amazing, and sometimes underappreciated, vegetable – Fennel. Then finally, the delicious sauce is drunk up by your favorite Pasta. Yes, this Sausage and Fennel Pasta recipe delivers a mighty punch of flavor that everyone will surely be coming back for more

Our yummy Sausage and Fennel Pasta is a perfect recipe for a cold night when you want to tuck into a hearty meal sitting by the fire. Fill your bowl full of this yummy meal and curl up in front of the TV with your loved ones. Eat perhaps a little too much then fall asleep shortly after! A perfect mid-week meal for those cold nights

We used Orecchiette Pasta for this recipe, however there are many suitable alternatives

There are so many great Pasta options for this recipe so there is no need to be picky. For our photos we used Orecchiette Pasta, which is perhaps one of the lesser popular Pasta options out there. It’s a great, disc-like Pasta which is perfect for spooning large quantities into your mouth at once. Just the way we like to eat!

Try to avoid the long strand pasta such as Spaghetti, Fettuccini or Linguini, as it may be a bit more challenging to get an even proportion of Pasta, Sauce, and Sausage into eat bite. Instead, opt for the individual pieces of Pasta such as Spiral, Rigatoni, Penne, or Cavatappi

These shapes hold an extraordinary amount of sauce in each bite, and you can get a good amount of every ingredient with each forkful / spoonful

Honestly, just use whatever you’ve got in the pantry! There is no need to be super fussy. The perfect way to eat this meal is the way you want to eat it!

Spicy Italian Sausage brings the best flavor to the Creamy Sausage and Fennel Pasta dish

There’s plenty of options out there when it comes to Sausage. We’d recommend steering away from any of the super gourmet Sausages. Many times, we find that they simply do not have enough fat and flavor in them. Instead, they substitute fancy ingredients for flavor

Our recommendation is that delicious Spicy Italian Sausage that typically is found in the ground meat section of the grocery store. It’s got a fantastic level of fat ratio, which means it’s packed full of flavor. It is also already ground, so you don’t have to mess around with removing the casing from the Sausages before you cook them

It’s perfectly fine to use Sausages that come in their casing; however, we don’t want uniform pieces of Sausage in the dish. So, before cooking, make sure you cut down the middle of the Sausage to access the meat. Remove the casing and crush up the Sausage Meat into ground meat before adding into the pan

Finally, make sure you’re using Pork Sausage. It’s the most flavorful Sausage and pairs well with the Cream and Fennel in this dish. It’s also the most popular type of Sausage so there should be no issues finding it at your local grocery store

The standout ingredient in this recipe is Fennel

The real star of this recipe, however, is Fennel. An often-underutilized vegetable, Fennel is one of the most flavorful produce you can buy. It has a brilliantly rich, aniseed flavor that gives such a unique character to dishes when it is added

The aniseed flavor is not overwhelming, however. It is subtle, yet definitely there. We love pairing this dish with some Fennel Seeds to add even more aniseed. When cooking recipes such as this Sausage and Fennel Pasta that have Heavy Cream in them, it is important to match it with contrasting flavors. Heavy Cream by itself is a very rich, powerful flavor. So, offsetting that flavor with Fennel makes for a beautiful pairing

Reserve the Leafy Fennel Fronds for a garnish, adding more delicious Fennel flavor to the dish

Many Pasta dishes will have you adding fresh herbs into the dish right before serving. Usually it’s Parsley, or sometimes Cilantro, or Basil. For this recipe, the fresh herbs you add are those delicious leaves of the Fennel. These are known as ‘Fennel Fronds’ and they taste delicious!

The Fronds look beautiful as a garnish on the plate, and add more delicious Fennel flavor to the dish. We’d recommend using them sparingly if you’re unfamiliar with their flavor, as they are quite strong. If you’re a fiend for Fennel however, then pile them into the dish. They’ll elevate the flavor of the Sausage and Fennel Pasta to stratospheric levels!

Sausage and Fennel Pasta Recipe

Ingredients

• 500g / 17 oz. Pasta
• 1 lb. Ground Pork Sausage
• 400 ml / 12 oz. Heavy Cream
• ½ cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 cup White Wine
• 1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• 1 Fennel Bulb, finely diced
• 2 tbsp. Fennel Fronds, roughly chopped
• 1 Brown Onion, finely diced
• 4 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• 1 tsp. Fennel Seeds
• 1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

Instructions

1. Bring to Boil a large pot of water (about 6 cups) with 2 tbsp. of Salt. Once boiling, add the Pasta and cook until slightly undercooked. The Pasta should be a little bit chewy with some bite to it. Strain the Pasta and set aside
2. Heat the Vegetable Oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the Fennel, Onions, 1 tsp. of Salt and 1 tsp. of Pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are cooked and tender
3. Add the Fennel Seeds, Garlic, and Tomato Paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Then add the Ground Pork Sausage Meat
4. Cook the Sausage Meat for 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly. Try to break up the Sausage in the Pan if it is clumping together. You want smaller, bite sized pieces forming as it cooks
5. Add White Wine and cook until reduced, approximately 2 minutes. The Wine will deglaze the pan too, so stir well to get all the delicious flavor from the pan. Once reduced, add the Heavy Cream
6. Reduce the heat to medium / low and cook for 10 minutes until the Cream has reduced and thickened the sauce
7. Add the cooked Pasta into the Sauce. Stir well to incorporate the Pasta evenly in the Sauce and cook for a further 5 minutes until the Pasta is fully cooked
8. Turn off the heat and stir in freshly grated Parmesan Cheese and the Fennel Fronds. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Serve immediately
   
   

You can serve the Sausage and Fennel Pasta with some additional grated Parmesan Cheese on top and a sprig of Fennel Fronds for a lovely visual appeal

This is a beautifully warming dish and pairs well with a lovely glass of Red or White Wine. We love this dish with some fresh bread on the side to help soak up all that beautiful Sauce. Why not try making our delicious Homemade Garlic Knots for a delicious feast!

Happy Cooking!