There is something magical about this recipe, which coaxes the ultimate flavor out of just a few humble supermarket ingredients, turning them into a rich-tasting and well-balanced pasta dish that will have your family reaching for seconds.
After browning the sausage, we sauteed a hefty amount of sliced onions, along with sliced fennel, which added texture and flavor to the dish. And while it may seem like a mistake to add an entire can of tomato paste and no other tomato product to make the sauce, the concentrated, bold flavor of the tomato paste intensified during cooking and added rich notes to the dish.
To pull everything together, we added 2 cups of boiling water, simmering the mixture until thick. Sharp Pecorino cheese, added to the sausage-onion mixture, enriched the sauce by giving it a salty bite. Chopped fennel fronds added pleasant anise notes upon serving.
ZITI WITH FENNEL AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE
Start to finish: 30 minutes
Servings: 4-6
1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 onions, halved and sliced thin
1 fennel bulb, fronds chopped, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 pound ziti
Salt and pepper
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (1/2 cup), plus extra for serving
Nutrition information per serving: 550 calories; 187 calories from fat; 21 g fat (7 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 48 mg cholesterol; 929 mg sodium; 68 g carbohydrate; 6 g fiber; 9 g sugar; 21 g protein.
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