FARFELLE WITH ITALIAN SAUSAGES, SUN-DRIED TOMATOES, & FENNEL

Here is a recipe that includes Italian sausages, fennel, and sun-dried tomatoes. Farfalle (pronounced far-fa-lay) translates to "butterflies". Get the onion, fennel, peppers, and garlic chopped up on a cutting board ready to toss into the skillet. Dinner in under 40 minutes!

2 T extra-light olive oil or avocado oil, divided
1 lb mild or hot Italian sausages

1 T sea or kosher salt, for the pasta water

1 lb farfalle (butterfly) pasta

1 large sweet onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t freeze-dried or fresh basil, chopped

½ t red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup red or white wine

1 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into bitesize pieces

1 bunch Italian parsley, trimmed and chopped

½ cup grated Pecorino-Romano cheese

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the sausages for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat until brown on all sides. I put a splatter screen over my skillet to keep most of the grease from popping out on the stove.
Remove to a cutting board and discard grease and carefully wipe out or wash out skillet.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the salt.  Boil the farfalle pasta for 10 minutes.

Save 1 cup of the pasta water and set aside.  Drain pasta and set aside.

In the same large clean skillet add the rest of the oil and cook the onion, fennel, and peppers over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring as needed.  
Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the wine and cook another minute.

Cut the sausages into ¼ inch circles and add to the skillet along with the sun-dried tomatoes.  Add 1 cup of the pasta water and cook another 3-4 minutes.

Spoon in the pasta and add the basil, red pepper flakes and parsley.  
Toss to combine and add more pasta water, if needed.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the grated cheese and spoon pasta into 4 heated pasta bowls.
Serve with extra grated Pecorino Romano cheese at the table and a green salad...and of course a glass of vino rosso or vino bianco!

Serves 4

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