Penne With Fennel, Sausage & Tomato

By ltrodrigu

Ingredients

• For Roasted Vegetables:
• 2 large fennel bulbs, outer layers removed
• finely chopped fennel fronds
• 2 yellow onions, cut into thin half moons
• salt, to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• For Sauce:
• 2 pounds sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• For Serving:
• 1 pound penne
• 1 cup pasta cooking water
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan plus more
• salt. to taste
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley
• chopped fennel fronds
• 1 teaspoon fennel pollen (optional)

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from online.wsj.com

Preparation

Step 1

To Make Roasted Vegetables:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Finely chop fennel fronds and set aside. Roughly chop fennel bulbs and stalks and toss with yellow onions, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Roast in a baking pan, stirring frequently, until tender and golden, about 15 minutes.

To Make Sauce:
In a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat, cook Italian sausage until cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Strain sausage and discard grease. Return sausage to skillet. Add crushed tomatoes, basil and parsley and simmer until most liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add heavy cream and roasted vegetables and simmer, stirring, 5 minutes more.

To Make Pasta and Serve:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add penne and cook until al dente. Drain penne, reserving cooking water. Return penne to pot, add vegetable sauce and cook to heat, stirring occasionally, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, add Parmesan, salt, black pepper, basil, parsley, chopped fennel fronds and fennel pollen (optional). Serve with more grated Parmesan on the side.