Ina Garten has a recipe I just love—Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel. It is a little calorie dense as she uses 1 cup of heavy cream and ⅔ cup of half and half. I revised her recipe to have less calories, a more tomato-y sauce, and some spinach. Aren’t our doctors always saying we should eat more veggies? I think my recipe is just as good and a bit healthier.
I love fennel. It is a rather odd-looking vegetable but has become a popular ingredient in recipes because of its sweet, earthy flavor. It is especially popular in both Italian and Greek cuisine. Fennel can be eaten raw or cooked, although I must admit I have never eaten it raw. Cooking fennel enhances its flavor.
Fennel’s enlarged bulb bottom is composed of onion-like layers and culminates in stringy, celery-like stalks. Its stalks tend to be a bit tough, so we don’t generally eat the stalks. Its bulb bottom encloses a sweet-tasting, dense heart. Fennel is unique in that it tastes like licorice or anise and has the crisp, crunchy texture of an apple.
Have you cooked with fennel? If not, never fear. I have included tips on prepping fennel at the end of the recipe. If you want to make this recipe and aren’t a fan of fennel, celery makes a good substitute.
My husband think this recipe is Italian comfort food at its best!
Rigatoni with Sausage, Fennel, and Spinach
Serves 4
For the rigatoni:
12 ounces rigatoni
Fill a kettle with 4 to 6 quarts of water and place over a high heat. When water is at a solid rolling boil, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and pasta. Cook rigatoni according to package directions. Stirring occasionally helps prevent the pasta from sticking together. Drain pasta before adding to the sauce.
For the sauce:
2 cups chopped fennel (1 large bulb)
1 cup white onion, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons minced garlic
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 can (28-ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ cup white wine
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon large grind black pepper
⅔ cup half and half
2 cups fresh baby spinach, or more if you prefer
½ cup Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
Slivered fresh basil, for garnish
In a large, deep skillet, place olive oil over a medium-high heat. When oil sizzles, add fennel and onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until onion is translucent.
Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, or until browned, crumbling it with a fork. Add tomatoes, crushing them with your hands, and juice and tomato paste. Stir to combine, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Mash tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon as sauce simmers.
Add salt, pepper, and half and half and stir to combine. Add spinach to the sauce and cook until it just starts to wilt.
Add cooked pasta to the sauce and toss with tongs until it is well coated. Add Parmesan cheese and toss again.
To serve: Garnish with additional Parmesan cheese and slivered basil.
Tips for prepping fennel: Rinse bulb thoroughly. Using a potato peeler, peel off any dry or brown spots. Slice off the fennel stalks as close to the bulb as possible. Reserve fronds for salads or garnish. Fennel stalks tend to be tough and are best used for flavoring and not eating. If the outer layer of the bulb is thick, remove it. Cut bulb in half or quarters and remove the core in a wedge shape. Slice the fennel lengthwise or crosswise. Then chop the slices.
Tips for selecting fennel: Pick fennel that has large, squatty, white bulbs, a pale green color, and fluffy green fronds. Do not buy split, shriveled, dried-out bulbs with brown or soft spots. If the stalks have been cut away, it means the fennel has been on the shelf too long.
Tips on storing fennel: If placed in reusable, paper, or plastic bags or wrapped in plastic and stored in your vegetable crisper, fennel will last up to 3 days.
Carol Ann
Carol Ann Kates is the award-winning author of cookbook, Secret Recipes from the Corner Market, and international Amazon best-selling and award-winning author of Grocery Shopping Secrets. She’s an expert in how to shop, select, and store produce for maximizing home cooking outcomes and minimizing time and money spent. As a former supermarket and deli operator, Carol Ann shares grocery-insider wisdom—the same expertise you used to receive when patronizing a mom-and-pop establishment. Contact her at CarolAnn@CarolAnnKates.com and explore her website, www.CarolAnnKates.com.
Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Carol Ann Kates
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