Sausage and Fennel Pasta

Serves 6-ish.

Sir

For friends expecting their first child, we had a dinner for them with a number of already-weary parents and seven small children. The children didn’t scare them too much, but the expectant couple was asked if the pregnancy was intentional, how many tries it took to conceive and how many more children they were planning on. All expectant mothers should meet our Wendy Simpson. She liked this dish, which is a little like the good simple sausage pasta at Broder’s.

ingredients

SAUSAGE AND FENNEL PASTA
1 lb. bulk sweet Italian sausage
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 bulbs fresh fennel, bulbs finely chopped, feathery greens reserved
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery with leaves, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2-24 oz. cans, whole tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T. tomato paste
s & p
2 lbs. dried pasta, maybe ziti
parmesan for serving
In a large deep skillet over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of oil and brown the sausage. If using links, prick each one with a fork. Links should take about 25 minutes to be cooked through (bulk would be done way sooner). Remove sausage with slotted spoon and set aside.
Add rest of oil to skillet. Stir in fennel bulbs, onion, celery and garlic then cook over low heat stirring frequently for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft and lightly browned. Add salt and pepper.
Stir in tomatoes, basil, parsley, tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. (Add a little water if necessary to prevent sauce from sticking.) Put the sauce through a food mill into a saucepan. (I did not do this—next time, I’ll puree it with my Braun hand blender and forget the food mill.)
In the meantime, boil your pasta. Cut sausage, if in links, add to sauce and cook five more minutes. Toss hot pasta with sauce, adding a little pasta water if you want. Sprinkle with fennel greens and serve, passing the parmesan.

directions

1
In a large deep skillet over medium heat, heat a tablespoon of oil and brown the sausage. Remove sausage with slotted spoon and set aside.
2
Add rest of oil to skillet. Stir in fennel bulbs, onion, celery and garlic then cook over low heat stirring frequently for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft and lightly browned. Add salt and pepper.
3
Add the tomatoes, crushing them in your hand as you put them in. Add the basil, parsley, tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Add a little water if necessary to prevent sauce from sticking. Turn off the heat and puree the sauce with your Braun hand blender. Barring that, put the sauce through a food mill into a saucepan, run it through a blender, or leave it chunky (it’ll still taste good).
4
In the meantime, boil your pasta. Add sausage to sauce and cook five more minutes. Toss hot pasta with sauce, adding a little pasta water if you want. Sprinkle with fennel greens and serve, passing the parmesan.

Source: Revised slightly from the Dean and Deluca (where Felicity worked!) Cookbook