Creamy Sausage and Fennel Pasta (Restaurant-Style Rigatoni!)
A rich and creamy pasta dish featuring rigatoni in a savory sausage and fennel sauce. The sauce is built on a flavorful base of crumbled sweet Italian sausage, sautéed with chopped fresh fennel and onion until tender. It is seasoned with crushed fennel seeds and red pepper flakes, deglazed with white wine, and then enriched with heavy cream, half-and-half, and a touch of tomato paste. The cooked rigatoni is simmered in the finished sauce to absorb the flavor and is finished with fresh parsley and grated Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons good olive oil
- 3 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion
- 1 1/4 pounds sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
- 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound rigatoni
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 1 cup freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chopped fennel and onion and sauté for 7 minutes, until tender.
- Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork, until browned.
- Add the minced garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1 teaspoon of black pepper. Cook for one minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the white wine, bring it to a boil, and then add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and tomato paste.
- Bring the sauce back to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes, until it has thickened.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rigatoni according to the package directions until al dente.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pot with the sauce. Stir to coat the pasta.
- Cook the pasta in the sauce over low heat for 5 minutes to allow it to absorb the flavors.
- Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the fresh parsley and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
- Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmesan on the side.
Notes
- Using both fresh fennel and crushed fennel seeds provides a multi-layered, aromatic fennel flavor.
- Simmering the cooked pasta in the sauce for a few minutes before serving is a key step that allows the rigatoni to absorb the rich, creamy sauce.
- This is a one-pot sauce that comes together while the pasta is boiling, making it an efficient meal to prepare.
Find it online: https://www.eatswithsoul.com/y-sausage-and-fennel-pasta/