Monday, February 16, 2009

Easy Weeknight Meal

I was standing at the abandoned seafood counter of my local Safeway one night last week trying to buy a handful of shrimp. As usual, every employee in the store completely ignored me. After about 10 minutes I realized that my plan of spicy shrimp and rice for dinner was not going to happen. Second choice: homemade miso soup with mushroom. Surprise! This fabulous Safeway was also out of miso. I did not have a third option.

I stormed over to the produce section to find the Beau and once again proclaim my hatred for this establishment and to despair over what on earth I was going to eat for dinner. Inspiration! He was standing next to some gorgeous fresh fennel, one of my latest obsessions. My backup comfort food is always pasta, so I ended up making this extremely easy dinner in less than 30 minutes. It was absolutely delicious, especially if you love fennel. I had leftovers for lunch the next day and it actually may have tasted even better then.

Sausage and fennel are natural together in Italian cuisine; most Italian sausages have fennel seeds in them so this dish might even taste familiar. The end result is a little drier than most Americans like their pasta, but it really allows the flavor and texture of the fresh pasta to come through. Try it out!
Sausage and Fennel Pasta
Serves 2-3
  • 1 package fresh linguine or fettuchine pasta, about 9 oz (dried will work as well, but only make about 1/2 a pound)
  • about 4 oz bulk spicy italian sausage
  • 1 bulb fresh fennel, stalks removed and the bulb cut into a rough chop.
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) seasoned diced tomatoes (I like the basil and oregano seasoned ones)
  • about 6 oz fresh mozzarella, cubed (you can just use grated Parmesan if you don't have fresh mozzarella)
  • 2 T vegetable or olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
1. Boil water for the pasta.
2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking into bits, until done and no longer pink inside (5-8 minutes). Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon but leave the oil and fat in the skillet. Drain sausage on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Cook the fennel in the skillet over medium heat until just tender (5-8 minutes).
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
5. While the pasta is cooking, add the can of tomatoes and the sausage to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until some of the tomato liquid has evaporated and you have a sauce-like consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Mix together the sauce and pasta. Toss to combine. Top each serving with a handful of fresh mozzarella cubes (or grate some Parmesan over it if you don't have mozzarella).

Buon appetito!