Sausage And Fennel Recipes

ITALIAN FENNEL SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine salt, fennel seed and red-pepper flakes. Add pork to the spice mixture along with the garlic, and wine. Using your hands, mix thoroughly for 1 full minute, until the pork begins to appear tacky and sticks to the palm of your hand.
• Heat a cast-iron pan over medium heat. Use a heaping tablespoon of pork mixture to make a small, thin sausage patty. Add a teaspoon or so of olive oil, and cook the patty for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. Taste, and if needed, add salt or any other seasonings to the uncooked sausage mixture and mix to combine.
• Divide and form the remaining sausage into 8 2 1/2-inch patties, placing them on the prepared baking sheet as you go. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together. (Patties can be made ahead and covered and refrigerated or frozen at this point until ready to use.)
• To cook, wipe out cast-iron pan, and return to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. When it shimmers, add patties in a single layer, leaving space between them. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until browned on the surface and just cooked through.
• Drain sausages on paper towels, and serve hot.

RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat a large straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil and sausage; cook, breaking into pieces, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon fat; reduce heat to medium. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, fennel, and carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth; bring to a simmer. Add pasta, pasta water, lemon zest and juice, cheese, and sausage. Simmer, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand to thicken, about 10 minutes. Drizzle with oil. Serve with fennel fronds, lemon wedges, cheese, and arugula.

RIGATONI WITH SAUSAGE & FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion and saute for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork, until nicely browned. Add the garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper and cook for one minute. Pour in the wine, bring to a boil, and add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and tomato paste. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt, and cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to coat the pasta. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on the side.

SAUSAGE & FENNEL RISOTTO

Steps:

• Fry the sliced sausages until browned, then transfer to a warm oven. Use the same pan to melt the butter and add the sliced fennel and fennel seeds. Fry until the fennel softens, then add the crushed garlic clove and cook for 1 min more.
• Tip in the risotto rice and stir until popping. Pour in the white wine, let it sizzle for 1 min, then slowly add the chicken stock, ladle by ladle, stirring all the time on a low heat until cooked through.
• Finish with the parmesan and top with the sausage slices and fennel fronds.

SAUSAGE AND LENTILS WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Bring lentils, water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender but not falling apart, 12 to 25 minutes.
• While lentils simmer, cut fennel bulb into 1/4-inch dice and chop enough fennel fronds to measure 2 tablespoons. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then stir in onion, carrot, fennel bulb, fennel seeds, and remaining teaspoon salt. Cover pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lightly prick sausages in a couple of places with tip of a sharp knife, then cook sausages in remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board.
• Drain cooked lentils in a sieve set over a bowl and reserve cooking water. Stir lentils into vegetables with enough cooking water to moisten (1/4 to 1/2 cup) and cook over moderate heat until heated through. Stir in parsley, pepper, 1 tablespoon vinegar, and 1 tablespoon fennel fronds. Season with vinegar and salt.
• Cut sausages diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Serve lentils topped with sausage and sprinkled with remaining tablespoon fennel fronds. Drizzle all over with extra-virgin olive oil.

SAUSAGE WITH FENNEL AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages; cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add wine and bring to a boil; cook until reduced by half. Transfer sausages to a platter; pour over cooking liquid.
• Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until sizzling, about 1 minute. Add crushed red pepper flakes and cook 30 seconds. Add olives and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes more.
• Add fennel and stir to combine. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cover skillet, and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring, until fennel is soft and begins to brown, about 20 minutes. Add a little water to skillet if fennel does not begin to soften.
• Return sausages and their cooking liquid to skillet. Toss together with fennel mixture and cook, uncovered, until mixture is caramelized and well coated, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

SAUSAGE AND FENNEL SOUP

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan; add garlic and shallots. Cook 1 minute. Add sausage, cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Add leeks, fennel, carrots, tomatoes, parsley and sprinkle all with salt and pepper. Cook another 2 minutes. Add chicken broth. Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Serve immediately.

SAUSAGE & FENNEL ORECCHIETTE

Steps:

• Boil a large pan of salted water, turn the heat down to medium, then add the leek, sliced fennel and broccoli, and simmer for 3 mins until tender. Lift the veg out of the water using a slotted spoon, drain and set aside. Keep the pan of water on the heat, add the orecchiette and cook for around 11 mins, or until tender but still retaining some bite.
• Meanwhile, put a large frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil and squeeze the sausagemeat out of the skins, tearing it into small pieces in the pan using a wooden spoon. Fry for 3-4 mins until golden brown and almost cooked, then add the garlic, fennel seeds and tomato purée, and fry for 30 seconds until aromatic. Add the blanched veg and grated carrot, and cook for another 4 mins. Tip in the tomatoes, bring to the boil, then simmer for around 4 mins until reduced slightly.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a cup of pasta water, and toss the pasta in the pan with the sausage and tomato sauce, adding a splash of pasta water to loosen. Season and serve with the reserved fennel fronds scattered over the top.

SAUSAGE AND FENNEL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Halve onions and slice thinly
• Fry gently in a splash of oil with the fennel seeds and crushed garlic for 5 mins
• Add pricked sausages - I like to twist my sausages in the middle so each one becomes two smalled fatter ones!
• The idea is to brown the sausages all over whilst they absorb some of the flavour of the fennel etc
• Peel and slice the potatoes into long wedges
• Add potatoes, zest and juice of 2 lemons and a cupful of water, stir to coat - don't be tempted to add too much water at this stage, add 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Transfer to casserole if necessary (I use a cast iron one that goes on the hob too) and cook at 180C(fan) 200C(standard)gas6 for about 45 mins. Check occasionally and stir gently to get all potatoes in liquid - add a bit more if needed.
• Once potatoes are tender adjust seasoning, stir in parsley if needed and serve with green salad or veg of choice