Friday, September 24, 2010

The best pasta we've ever made -- so far

Orecchiette with Fennel, Sausage & Tomatoes from Fine Cooking magazine is so amazingly delicious, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
   At the time of writing, this pasta recipe is officially the best my husband and I have ever made.
   The sweet sausage and its oils blend beautifully with the fennel, tomatoes, basil and orecchiette pasta.
   Orecchiette means “little ears” in Italian. I haven’t been able to find this type of pasta around here, and so use any disc- or seashell-shaped pasta as a substitute. It works fine.
   The recipe calls for sweet Italian sausage, casings removed. You can find sausage without casings (it looks like ground chicken or turkey) in the meat sections of many supermarkets.
   Make sure to buy “sweet” or “mild.”
   You can use fresh or canned diced tomatoes. We often used canned diced in order to shorten things up just a bit.
   This recipe is quite easy to make.
   The sausage is browned, then transferred to a paper towel-lined plate.
   Finely-chopped fennel is cooked in the same pan. White wine, sausage, tomatoes, fresh basil and red pepper flakes are added and the sauce is cooked.
   Meanwhile, the orecchiette is boiled.
   After the pasta is drained, it’s returned to the pot, the sauce is added, and the mixture is cooked briefly. Freshly-grated Pecorino Romano cheese is stirred in.
   The pasta is served with more fresh basil and cheese sprinkled on top.




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1 comment:

Chef Robin White said...

This sounds so good. You've inspired me to try Fennel and Pasta. Thanks for this great recipe.