Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 pound sweet Italian sausage with fennel seed, removed from casing
1 bulb fennel, cored and finely chopped
1 onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
Salt and white pepper or finely ground black pepper
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or grated
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup white wine
1 pound tagliatelle
About ½ to ⅔ cup heavy cream
Juice of ½ lemon
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
A few handfuls of small leaves of arugula
Directions
Serves: 4
Heat a large pot of water to a boil for pasta.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, about 1 tablespoon. Add sausage and use a wooden spoon to crumble in the pan while the sausage browns, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the browned meat to a platter and return the pan to stove, lower heat to medium, and add more EVOO, another slow turn of the pan. Add the fennel and onions and season with salt and pepper of choice. Soften the fennel and onions a few minutes, add ¼ cup water and let it absorb. Add the garlic and lemon zest and stir a minute, add wine and let it reduce to about ¼ cup.
Salt the pasta water and cook the pasta 1 minute less than package directions and reserve about ½ cup of the water before draining.
Add the heavy cream to white wine sauce and reduce to low. Add back the sausage.
Toss pasta with sauce, juice of ½ lemon, reserved water and cheese for 1 full minute using tongs and top the pasta with arugula to serve.