Home Run!

So we had this poor little sad bag of tortellini in our cupboards. The lawyer and I both agreed that one of us could eat the whole 8 oz bag by ourselves so I had to find a way to beef the dish up. I promptly dug through all of my food magazines and found this little gem from Bon Appétit: Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Mushrooms. I tend to find Bon Appétit recipes slightly intimidating with all their long and crazy list of ingredients but this one seemed manageable (especially since they weren't making their own tortellini!!). I was also skeptical of cooking with fennel as it is not one of my favorite flavors. However, I am learning to appreciate cooked fennel but still abhor fennel seeds so I omitted them from the recipe. I did add the fennel fronds for garnish and while they looked pretty I thought they kind of tasted like seaweed and would probably omit them in the future. This dish was surprising simple and easy to make. It tasted delicious and I will be making it in the future for a dinner party. I served up this scrumptious dish with some local artisan bread with Pino’s Press Tuscan Herb Dipping Oil from Syracuse on my new Vermont Bread Board (side note: make sure you always screw the cap on tightly after using any bottled substance. Evidently I did not do this after the pita chip experiments and when I went to shake the bottle BAM! Olive oil on my floor! While it was only around two tablespoons it looked like a ton and my kitchen still smells like a well seasoned Italian kitchen) 

Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel and Mushrooms 

(this is the full recipe, I halved it because I only had 8 oz of tortellini)

(Bon Appétit, December 2010) 

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthwise (about 3 cups), fronds chopped

1 pound spicy Italian sausages, casings removed, sausage coarsely crumbled
1 8-ounce package sliced fresh crimini (baby bella) mushrooms (of course we added extra!)
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed (completely omitted by Jenni)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 16-ounce package dried tortellini with pesto filling or fresh tortellini with 3-cheese filling
1 5-ounce package fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional (for serving)
Directions:
1. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sliced fennel bulb, sausage, and mushrooms; sauté until sausage is brown and cooked through and fennel is almost tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Add garlic and fennel seeds; stir 1 minute. Stir in cream, then 1 cup broth; boil until liquid is reduced and very slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook tortellini in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain tortellini; return to same pot.
3. Add sausage mixture to tortellini in pot. Toss over medium heat until blended. Add spinach; toss gently until spinach wilts. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese; add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to moisten if dry. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped fennel fronds, and serve, passing additional cheese.

Mr. Lawyer said it was a “home run” and it reheated wonderfully the next day. I definitely recommend it to anyone!