3-Ingredient Orecchiette With Sausage and Fennel
4.7
(14)
Active Time
25 minutes
Total Time
25 minutes
In Epi's 3-Ingredient Recipes series, we show you how to make great food with just three ingredients (plus staples like oil, salt, and pepper).
In this simple weeknight pasta, each ingredient pulls its weight. Fennel adds a touch of sweetness, while sausage contributes rich flavor. Be sure to add the sausage just before the last toss to maintain all those delicious crispy bits.
Ingredients
4 servings
Preparation
Step 1
Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Step 2
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook sausage, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through and browned and crispy in spots, 6–8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.
Step 3
Add sliced fennel to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, adding 1/4 cup water to skillet as bottom begins to brown (you may need to do this a few times), until soft and caramelized, 10–15 minutes more.
Step 4
Add pasta and reserved pasta cooking liquid to skillet and cook, tossing to coat, until liquid has reduced to a creamy sauce, about 4 minutes. Add sausage and fennel fronds, season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
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Reviews (14)
Back to TopThis is a great recipe 3-Ingredient Orecchiette With Sausage and Fennel , had fun making it over the weekend. Recreated the meal that I get from <a href="https://www.flexpromeals.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer ugc">https://www.flexpromeals.com/</a> delivered. Good quality and fresh.
Vadim
9/30/2023
I agree with some here; good starter. I also used a good dry white wine instead of the water (intuition told me it needed more flavour). I also grated some fresh parmesan cheese and tossed it in at the end right after the addition of pasta water. One more thing ... I agree the fennel didn’t come through enough so, after it was done but still in the pot, I added some freshly crushed fennel seed to amp the flavour. It made a big difference. I would also serve it with additional parmesan cheese and some red pepper flakes.
Phil Daley
Winnipeg MB, Canada
3/3/2021
Though my husband loved the dish, I found it to be very bland. The only change I made was to use wine instead of water as one of the reviewers suggested.
Anonymous
San Jose, CA
6/25/2020
I made this twice, and the second time added a couple tablespoons of dijon mustard for the last few minutes of cooking the fennel. Turned out fantastic.
Anonymous
Pittsburgh, PA
3/5/2020
This was a good base! Like another user, I used 16 oz of pasta and 16 oz of sausage. I used both sweet and hot Italian sausage. I sauteed the fennel bulb in the same pan, per the instructions, but used a dry white wine instead of water. (I wound up using 3/4th of a cup.) Then, right before serving, I mixed in a half a cup of finely grated parmesan and served with red chili pepper flakes, the fronds and a slight sprinkle of parmesan! Yum!
weescotishlassie
Stamford, CT
11/3/2018
Kind of disappointing- the fennel flavor was non-existent. As my wife said "...You can't tell if it's fennel, cabbage, or onion". Although the flavor was good, it was not what I had hoped for.
iccohen8362
Falls Church VA
5/11/2018
Quick, easy, and good! Even cutting the recipe in half made enough for leftovers. I’m going to try different varieties of sausage next time.
cdnginger
AB, Canada
1/16/2018
I cooked this for my SO and my lunch group at work (5 of us cook lunch for the group one day per work week), and it was devoured until gone on both occasions. I’m making another batch today. I use 16 oz. sausage and 16 oz pasta (instead of 12), and I use wine instead of water when sautéing the fennel bulb. 😊
GinnyFelker
Oceanside, CA
12/17/2017
Super simple and easy to make!
sant1ago
Chicago, IL
8/23/2017
Pretty easy and tasty. I cooked the fennel for a shorter period of time and at a higher heat, so it caramelized without becoming mushy. I also used a combo of pasta water and chicken broth, and subbed a hefty sprinkle of white pepper for the black pepper. Top each serving with freshly grated parmesan, and this is a keeper!
lynnev
California
3/22/2017
This recipe is a keeper definitely because of the three ingredients but also tasted great. I had a little fresh Parmesan when serving and you're all set!
Emrbeach
Boston, Ma
12/13/2016
I was a little nervous cooking this dish up in the few remaining days before Thanksgiving, thinking it might be a little too heavy of a dish. Turns out I was completely wrong. This dish wasn't heavy at all and simple to make for a Thursday evening. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to source any fennel and failed to find a third of the required ingredients, so I guess I didn't actually make the exact recipe. A quick search showed that celery could be used as a substitute. In my case, I substituted the fennel with celery and sweet onion. My substitute attempt turned out delicious so I can only imagine that by using the called for fennel, the dish would result in an even deeper, richer experience with the mild-licorice flavor coming from the fennel. This dish is definitely worth making again only next time, I'll do a better job at finding the 3 ingredients.
Denver, CO
11/18/2016
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