Description
A delicious creamy pasta dish featuring pappardelle, Italian sausage, and fennel, with a hint of heat from Calabrian chili paste.
Ingredients
Scale
- 400g pappardelle pasta
- 250g Italian sausage (spicy or mild)
- 1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1–2 tbsp Calabrian chili paste (adjust to taste)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Fresh dill or fennel fronds, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pappardelle until al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add sausage, breaking it up with a spoon. Cook for 6–8 minutes until browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add more olive oil if needed. Sauté fennel for about 5 minutes until soft, then add garlic and cook 1 more minute.
- Stir in Calabrian chili paste. Let it cook for 1–2 minutes with the aromatics to release flavor.
- Reduce heat and add heavy cream. Stir to combine and simmer 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened.
- Return sausage to the skillet. Add pasta and toss everything together. Use reserved pasta water to loosen sauce if needed.
- Stir in Parmesan until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with extra cheese and fresh herbs if using.
Notes
- This dish can be customized by adjusting the amount of Calabrian chili paste based on your heat preference.
- For a lighter version, substitute half-and-half for heavy cream.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 850
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 56g
- Saturated Fat: 24g
- Unsaturated Fat: 20g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 70g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 100mg