Pasta with Spicy Sausage

Shumon and Kate came over dinner. It was a beautiful warm night. We started with a the Zuni Caesar Salad. You can get the recipe from our blog of: June 25, 2009. Click the date to get the recipe. We cheat on making it, by simply throwing all of the ingredients for the dressing in the blender at one time and letting it get blended into a creamy sauce.

For the main course we made a new and delicious pasta: Spaghetti with Spiced Sausage & Fennel Sauce from a new cookbook that we purchased: Simple by Diana Henry. Like the name implies the recipes are all simple to execute. We bought the Sausages at McCall's Meat and Fish. The Sausages were spicy and the fennel was great in the sauce. I don't remember ever having fennel in a pasta sauce before. Great addition.

It was a great night of food and conversation on the deck.

spaghetti with spiced sausage & fennel sauce

Simple

Diana Henry

Easy, quick and a crowd pleaser. My kids love it, and they're pretty picky. Omit the fennel seeds if you don't have any. You can use pasta shapes instead of spaghetti, if you prefer.

Serves 4

14    oz spicy pork sausages, preferably Italian

2      tablespoons olive oil

1      fennel bulb

1      large onion, minced

¼     teaspoon chili flakes

pinch of fennel seeds, bashed in a mortar and pestle

2   garlic cloves, crushed

1       cup white or red wine, or dry vermouth

14     oz can of cherry tomatoes in thick juice salt and pepper

2       teaspoons soft light brown sugar

2       tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

10-1/2    oz spaghetti

finely grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese, to serve

Remove the sausage casing and form the meat into hazelnut-sized pieces. Heat the regular olive oil in a sauté pan and brown them over high heat until a good color all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Halve the fennel bulb and take off the tough outer leaves. Trim the tips—keep any little fronds— and cut each piece in half again. Trim the base of each, discard the core, then finely chop. Sauté with the onion over medium-low heat until soft. Add the chili flakes, fennel seeds, and garlic, plus any fronds, and cook for two minutes. Increase the heat, add the wine, and let it bubble until reduced by half Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Season really well, add the sugar, and cook for about 20 minutes, uncovered. Now return the sausage and cook for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. You may need a little water (it depends how much your sauce has reduced). You should have- a good thick sauce that will coat the pasta, and not a solid puree. Drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil; it's great for extra flavor and enriches the sauce.

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water until al dente—usually a couple of minutes less than the package suggests—then drain (not too thoroughly; a little cooking water helps the sauce) and return it to the pan. Stir the sauce into the pasta. Serve with Parmesan or pecorino cheese.