You know you have landed in Sicily when you catch the anise-like fragrance of wild fennel drifting in the summer breeze. Indigenous to Sicily, the herb adorns the island. You will find its feathery green fronds snaking along roadsides dotted with almond trees, agaves and prickly cactus, or hiding in the bushes that cover the island’s Mediterranean shrubland.
Unmistakably fresh, wild fennel is the seasoning of choice for many a traditional dish on the island. But our chef Roberta’s favourite expression of the herb is “salsiccia e finocchietto” - Sicily’s famous sausage and fennel sauce, and the inspiration for this dish. Roberta, a Pugliese native, loves regaling us with tales of her childhood holidays to San Vito Lo Capo, a mountain comune in Northern Sicily, famous for its sausage-making tradition. Here, you will find her mamma’s favourite trattoria, where salsiccia e finocchietto bubbles away in big pots in the backyard, its intoxicating aroma offering a very particular kind of joy.
Inspired by Roberta’s memory, our sausage sauce this week is prepared in true Sicilian tradition. Stewed slowly, the savoury flavour of the sausage is enhanced by the addition of wild fennel and sea salt, creating a beautiful white sauce far greater than the sum of its parts. We serve our sauce with fresh tubes of rigatoni, a typical Sicilian pasta shape whose grooves are perfect for sopping up every last morsel.
Note: Please consume or freeze our pasta and sauces within 2 days of delivery.
METHOD
- Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Salt the water (around ½tbsp per litre).
- Cook the pasta in the boiling water for 3 minutes. Stir regularly to prevent sticking.
- Whilst the pasta cooks, put the sauce in a pan and add 1tbsp (15ml) of the boiling pasta cooking water. Take care to ensure you squeeze all the sauce from the pouch. Gently heat until steaming and then turn off the heat.
- Once cooked, transfer the pasta to the sauce. Toss gently to coat.
- Sprinkle over the parsley pangrattato crumb. Serve immediately. Buon appetito!
INGREDIENTS
Allergens in BOLD & CAPITALISED:
Durum WHEAT Semola, WHEAT Flour, EGG, Water, Rice Flour
Pork Sausage (46%) (Pork (Origin: Denmark), White Wine (SULPHITES), Garlic, Salt, Pepper), Cream (MILK), Onion, Water, Fennel, Chicken Stock (contains CELERY Seeds), White Wine (SULPHITES), Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Garlic, Fennel Seeds, Fresh Chilli, Black Pepper
MILK, Salt, Rennet (Microbial Coagulant), EGG Lysozyme
ALLERGENS
In addition to the recipe-specific allergen information provided, Pasta Evangelists handles all 14 allergens prescribed in legislation. Whilst we have implemented and maintain safety practices and take all reasonable precautions to prevent cross-contamination, we cannot guarantee that our products will not contain traces of these allergens.
NUTRITION
Calories per serving: 922kcal
Following nutritional information is per 100g:
- Energy 1105kJ
- Calories 265kcal
- Fat 11.1g
- Of which saturates 4.4g
- Carbohydrates 31.8g
- Of which sugars 3.0g
- Protein 9.0g
- Salt 0.4g
RECIPE CARD
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