Chef notes
One pot. Quick prep. Super cozy — this recipe’s got it all. This tasty sausage and pasta makes the perfect dinner for a casual weeknight or an elevated dinner party with friends. The best part? It all happens in one pot, minimizing cleanup and maximizing the time you spend sitting around the table, connecting and eating with your loved ones.
Despite being full of flavor, this dish also requires the use of minimal ingredients because it gets a punch of flavor from Italian sausage. After removing the sausage from the pot, you’ll toast the pine nuts in the pork fat — doing double duty to get you the most flavor while also cutting down on the dishes you’ll have to do later. The heavier, salty notes are then balanced out by the addition of bright lemon and sautéed fennel. The ingredients all come together with a mixture of pasta water and butter.
Garnish with the leftover fennel fronds for an impressive looking plate. This pasta is hearty enough served on its own, or slice up some crusty bread alongside to sop up all the flavorful sauce.
Special Equipment Required: You’ll need a slotted spoon for stirring.
Technique Tip: Use a potato masher to break up sausage links neatly into little pieces.
Swap Option: Feel free to use ghee instead of butter and pecorino instead of Parmesan. Pecorino is saltier than Parmesan, so you may want to adjust the salt content overall. And in a pinch, you can always swap paccheri for your favorite pasta shape.
Dining and Cooking