Sausage & Fennel Pasta

It is coming to the end of the season for fennel here in the UK and so it is a matter of urgency that you try this recipe out. You will not regret this. This is a flavourful fast meal as with many of my recipes it is one you can have from fridge to table well within half an hour. This is my Sausage & Fennel Pasta.

Now I know that some people shy away from fennel as it has the reputation of tasting like liquorice. Whilst if you bite into a bulb raw you will taste anise, this is not the only way to eat this delicious vegetable. The anise flavour is not a strong, dark profile more a fresh, spring – like flavour, with a hint of anise. Of course cooking changes the flavour completely. If you roast or sauté fresh fennel the anise flavour disappears almost entirely. My fiancée does not like liquorice or anise at all yet she really enjoys this pasta dish.

I use both fresh fennel bulb and fennel seeds in this recipe. (I can’t very well call it a sausage & fennel pasta if you can’t taste fennel.) With the seeds I crush and break them up using a pestle and mortar. I then add this to my pork sausage meat along with a generous pinch of salt. I use my favourite pork sausages and squeeze the sausage meat out of the skins. This is a great tip use the sausages you like. 

Pasta regularly tops the polls as the go to comfort food. This provides all the comfort that you want – A creamy ricotta sauce that enrobes the pasta along with nuggets of yielding sausage meat. The fennel adds fresh notes with a little crunch whilst the chilli flakes in this recipe add a welcome piquancy. For other comforting pasta recipes try out my lasagne recipe or make a bolognese with my ragu recipe.

This recipe states it serves 2 that is purely because I am currently only cooking for 2. This is very easily doubled. You can buy one big bulb of fennel or two smaller ones. If you are doubling this recipe When you loosen the ricotta with the pasta water I would start with 60ml (or ¼ cup measure) you can then add a tablespoon at a time until you have it smooth enough to coat the ribbons of pasta.

This really is so simple to make and the ingredients will not break the bank. Making this a fantastic midweek meal for those evening when you are rushed. It could also be a weekend meal for those lazy weekends that call from 20 minutes of cooking from almost instant gratification. This for me is perfect for evenings when I just want to flop onto the couch I can whip this up and worry about the washing up later.

If you try this Sausage & Fennel Pasta I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments below. You can share your pictures on social media with me. Tag me on Instagram @cubbinthekitchen or use the #CUBBintheKitchen to be featured in my stories.

Sausage & Fennel Pasta

A quick pasta dish with yielding sausage meat, fresh fennel and a creamy ricotta sauce

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Total Time 23 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 2

Calories 553 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 4 Pork Sausages or 240g Sausage Meat
• 0.25 tsp Fennel Seeds
• Pinch Salt
• 1 Clove Garlic
• 0.5 tsp Chilli Flakes
• 1 Small Fennel Bulb
• 125 grams Ricotta
• 2 Servings Pasta I use 112g Pappardelle

Instructions

 

• Get some salted water boiling for your pasta, cook this as per the packets instructions.
• In a pestle and mortar rough up the Fennel seeds until you get a good amount of fibrous dust.

  Squeeze out the Sausage meat from the skins if using sausages.

  Add the Fennel dust to the Sausage meat and a generous pinch of Salt and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Finely slice the Fennel Bulb.We are using the white part that looks like an onion and can be cut in much the same way.

  Finely chop the Garlic clove.
• Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the Sausage. Prodding to break it up into chunks.

  Keep disturbing the Sausage Meat and fry until golden and crisp and cooked through 5 – 7 minutes.

  Tip the cooked Sausage onto a plate and add the sliced Fennel to the pan. You may need to add a splash of oil depending how much fat the sausages have left behind.
• Once the fennel has started to turn golden after about 4 minutes add the Garlic and Chilli Flakes and cook for 2 minute.

  Add the sausage back to the pan and turn the heat off.
• Scoop out 60ml of the pasta water (a ¼ cup measure) and mix with the Ricotta to loosen.
• Drain the pasta and add to the Ricotta.
• Next mix the Sausage and Fennel with the Pasta and Ricotta.

  Serve in pasta bowls garnished with the leafy green fronds of the Fennel.

Notes

LEFTOVER TIPS

If you have enough you can tip this into a dish and top with breadcrumbs and crushed crisps (such as my garlic and fennel baked chips) and bake to have a delicious pasta bake.
I wouldn’t count on having leftovers though.

Keyword Cooking, Crowd Pleaser, Dinner, Easy, Family, Fast, Fast Food, Fennel, Lunch, Pasta, Recipe, Ricotta, Sausage, Simple, Spaghetti, Supper, Tasty