Sausage and Fennel Pasta with Artichokes
Servings 4
Calories 856kcal
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry pasta - I used orecchiette
- ⅓ cup pasta water
- 1 lb ground sweet italian sausage - or links with casing cut off
- 3 cups thinly sliced fennel - about 3 small bulbs or 2 medium bulbs with the fronds cut off
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup chopped cooked artichoke hearts - I use the one in a can and drain them
- 2 tbsp chopped capers
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley + more for garnish
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 8 oz burrata
Instructions
- Boil pasta in heavily salted water according to package instructions. Before draining, reserve ⅓ cup pasta water. Drain pasta and set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground sausage to the skillet, cook until browned and crumbled (5-7 minutes), reduce heat to med-low, remove cooked sausage from the pan, but leave oil from the sausage behind.
- Add the fennel to the pan with the sausage oil and add tbsp of olive oil. Increase the heat to medium and saute until browned - this can take awhile about 15 minutes. If the pan starts to look too dry at any point, add another splash of oil because the fennel can absorb a lot.
- Season fennel with a pinch of salt. Pour the artichoke hearts, capers, parsley and balsamic vinegar into the skillet and toss to combine.
- Pour the cooked pasta, cooked sausage, and pasta water into the skillet. Toss to combine, simmer covered for 5 minutes to combine the flavors.
- Pour onto a serving platter, top with freshly grated parmesan cheese, chopped parsley, and two balls of burrata. I like to pull the burrata open to spread over the pasta before serving.
Notes
- Do not wipe out the pan after cooking the sausage. The brown bits and drippings left in the pan are full of flavor. Cook the fennel directly in the sausage fat so it soaks up all that savory goodness as it caramelizes.
- Slice the fennel thin. Thinly sliced fennel cooks down quickly and becomes sweet and tender. Thick pieces will take longer to soften and may not caramelize as well.
- Save your pasta water before draining. The starchy pasta water is what helps the sauce coat every piece of pasta. Do not forget it. Set a measuring cup next to the stove so you do not pour it out by mistake.
- Do not rush the fennel. Give the fennel a full 8-10 minutes in the pan over medium heat to caramelize properly. Rushing it on high heat will make it steam instead of brown and you will lose that sweet, deep flavor.
Nutrition
Calories: 856kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 59g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 1170mg | Potassium: 701mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1158IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 381mg | Iron: 3mg
