Good Fennels Pasta Rachael Ray Food

GOOD FENNELS PASTA (RACHAEL RAY)

Steps:

• Put a large pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta. Salt water, add pasta, cook according to package directions.
• While the water heats up, work on the sauce. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.
• Add sausage and break it up into tiny bits. Brown all over, then transfer it to a plate lined with a paper towel.
• In the same pan, add the other 2 tablespoons of oil, the garlic, onions, fennel, and cubanelle peppers. Season veggies with salt and pepper.
• Cook, flipping veggies often, 7 to 8 minutes, or until tender, but do not let the fennel and onions brown; reduce heat if they begin to do so.
• Add wine or stock and reduce for 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and transfer sausage into pan. Reduce heat to simmer; cook while waiting for pasta to finish.
• Drain pasta and add it to the sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the pasta, then toss to combine everything. Top finished pasta with shredded basil and serve with extra cheese and bread to mop the plates.

PASTA WITH PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and brown the sausage in it. Transfer sausage to paper towel lined plate. Drain fat from skillet and return pan to the stove. Add the remaining tablespoon oil, and then the garlic and onion. Saute 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
• Add bay leaf, sage, and wine to the pan. Reduce wine by half, about 2 minutes. Add stock and pumpkin and stir to combine, stirring sauce until it comes to a bubble. Return sausage to pan, reduce heat, and stir in cream. Season the sauce with the cinnamon and nutmeg, and salt and pepper, to taste. Simmer mixture 5 to 10 minutes to thicken sauce.
• Return drained pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Remove the bay leaf from sauce and pour the sausage pumpkin sauce over pasta. Combine sauce and pasta and toss over low heat for 1 minute. Garnish the pasta with lots of shaved cheese and sage leaves.
• Serve pumpkin sausage pasta with pumpernickel or whole grain bread and Spinach Salad with Apple and Red Onion.
• Place spinach, apple, and onion in a salad bowl. Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small plastic container and fit lid on container. Shake dressing to combine, 1 minute. Pour dressing over salad, toss, and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

BACON AND ARTICHOKE PASTA

Steps:

• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add the EVOO, 3 turns of the pan. Add the guanciale or bacon and cook until crisp. Add the onion, garlic and a little pepper and stir for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and stir. Add the stock and artichokes and heat through. Cool and store for a make-ahead meal. Reheat over medium heat.
• To serve, bring water to boil for the pasta. Salt the water and cook the pasta to al dente, reserving 1 cup of the starchy water just before draining. Add the pasta to the artichoke mixture. Sprinkle with the parsley and half the cheese and cook, tossing to combine and adding some of the starchy pasta water if necessary to loosen the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with more cheese on top.
• Place the chicken in a large stockpot. Add the celery, carrot, onion, garlic, lemon, bay leaf, peppercorns and the herb bundle; season with salt. Cover the chicken with water and bring to a boil; reduce the heat to a low, rolling simmer. Simmer 60 to 75 minutes, then cool the chicken in its stock. Strain the stock. Remove the chicken in large pieces from the skin and bones. Cut half of the meat into bite-size chunks. Thinly slice or pull the remaining meat.

CHRISTMAS PASTA

Steps:

• Heat a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and brown to render the fat. Transfer pancetta to paper towels to drain. To the pan add the oil, and the meats and brown and crumble them for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, and pancetta bits.
• Chop carrot, celery, and onions near the stove and add to the pot as you work. Cook vegetables with meat 5 minutes and add wine. Cook for 1 minute; add stock and tomatoes to the pot.
• Stir in parsley, allspice, or cinnamon and season sauce with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring sauce to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and cook 10 to 15 minutes, minimum, before serving. Reheated sauce only improves.
• Toss pasta (cook off only as much pasta as you need at the time: half a pound for every 3 people) with a couple of ladles of sauce to coat, then top bowl with extra sauce. Top pasta with lots of cheese and pass bread at the table.