3-Ingredient Orecchiette with Sausage and Fennel

From the kitchen of Carly

Sweet Italian sausage browns until crispy while fennel softens into silky strands, then tumbles with tender orecchiette in a minimal pan sauce. Three ingredients deliver maximum comfort, letting each one shine without fuss.

Prep
n/a
Cook
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Total
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Servings
4
Difficulty
medium

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 112 ounces orecchiette or other short pasta
  • 1Kosher salt
  • 11 tablespoon olive oil
  • 112 ounces sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 11 fennel bulb (about 12 ounces), cored, thinly sliced, fronds chopped and reserved
  • 1Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

  2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and browned and crispy in spots, 6–8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.

  3. Add sliced fennel to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, adding 1/4 cup water to skillet as bottom begins to brown (you may need to do this a few times), until soft and caramelized, 10–15 minutes more.

  4. Add pasta and reserved pasta cooking liquid to skillet and cook, tossing to coat, until liquid has reduced to a creamy sauce, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and fennel fronds, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.