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This recipe is in the runnings as my favorite dinner recipe I’ve ever developed. This brothy tortellini dinner has a short ingredient list but wild depth of flavor. Big chunks of pork sausage get browned in a pot, then the drippings are used to char wedges of onion for the base of a fennel- and Parmesan-infused stock. Store-bought cheese-filled tortellini, sliced fennel, and the browned sausage are then briefly cooked in the flavorful stock. This is one hell of a dinner.
I’ve been dreaming up this tortellini dish for more than a year now. It’s inspired by the classic Italian soup known as Tortellini en brodo. And while this is not a soup and is far from being a traditional Italian dish, it does have some crossover.
The most important crossover is the flavorful infused stock.
So if you’re wondering what kind of pasta dish this is, it’s likely unlike anything you’ve had. It’s not saucy, it’s not soupy, it’s brothy.
Sunday Night Dinner
This is what I call a “Sunday Night Dinner.” It’s not something you’re whipping up after a busy work day—unless your work day ends early or you’ve made the stock ahead of time (both of which I’m fully on board with).
This is a dinner that, at its core, is very simple to make and fairly hands-off. The 45-minute simmer time is what lands this in the Sunday Night Dinner category.
But what you’re unlocking with this homemade stock is a technique I believe will change the way you cook at home. Even the best boxed chicken broth could never do what an infused stock does. Try it once and you’ll see it really doesn’t require much work and the ROI on that simmer time is unmatched in the kitchen.
Key Ingredients
The ingredient list is straightforward, but here are a few helpful notes.
- Mild italian sausage: the mild italian sausage you find should only have a little bit of chile peppers. We’re going for flavor here—not spice. So the sausage should have fennel seed and maybe some anise and nutmeg. I recommend getting bulk sausage—but links will do, just make sure you remove the casings before breaking into pieces and cooking.
- Fennel Seed: the sausage should already have fennel seed. But I like to double down and add more! Really amps up the flavor.
- Fennel Bulb: look for fennel bulbs that still have their stalks intact. (Trader Joe’s is notorious for removing them). Those stalks are just as flavorful as the bulb! You’ll use them for making the stock and the final dish.
- Dry white wine: use a dry wine you would enjoy drinking with this. I generally opt for a sauvignon blanc, pinot gris, or pinto grigio.
- Parmesan rinds: whenever I get to the end of a block of Parm, I stash the rinds in a large bag in my freezer. If you don’t have any on hand, some cheese counters offer them for sale.
- Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base: one of my all-time favorite ingredients. I use it all the time to make quick and impressive soup recipes. I’ve even flavored my buttermilk biscuits with chicken bouillon. But for this recipe it’s a great way to boost the savoriness of the stock.
- Cheese tortellini: I’ve tested this recipe with a variety of different pre-made refrigerated and frozen tortellini and I can confidently say, Rana tortellini turns out the best every time. Rana is sold at most major grocery stores and can be ordered online.
Tips for Making Sausage Fennel Pasta
This recipe has been tested more than 5 times—these are my best tips.
- You really do need cheesecloth in order to get a clear stock. If you just strain it through a fine mesh sieve, the stock will be cloudy (delicious! But cloudy nonetheless.).
- Make sure you simmer the stock, don’t boil. If you boil it too vigorously, too much liquid will evaporate off and you won’t be left with enough stock to cook the tortellini.
How to Make This One-Pot Dinner
Brown the sausage.
Char the onion in the sausage drippings.
Add the chopped fennel stalks and fronds.
Deglaze the pot with wine.
Add water, Better than Bouillon, Parmesan rinds and salt.
Simmer for 45 minutes.
Strain the stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
Make sure you press on the solids to get everything out!
Add the sliced fennel, cover, and cook until tender.
Add the tortellini and sausage and cook.
Stir in the fresh fennel fronds and serve.
What I Serve with Brothy Sausage and Fennel Pasta
This is a full meal, so when it’s just Greg and me, I simply serve this on its own—maybe with a bowl of fruit. When I’m serving a group, I’ll often pair it with a bright, tangy Butter Lettuce Salad with Cucumbers and a Savory Citrus Salad with Peanuts.
One-Pot Brothy Sausage and Fennel Pasta with Tortellini
Description
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Ingredients
- 1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
- 1 teaspoon fennel seed, lightly crushed in mortar and pestle
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 white onion, quartered
- 2 fennel bulbs, divided
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 6 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lower sodium Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
- 2 Parmesan rinds
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound (4 cups) good-quality cheese tortellini
Instructions
- Pinch 1 pound sausage into bite-sized pieces (½- to 1-inch in size) and arrange in an even layer in the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and ½ teaspoon granulated garlic over top.
- Place over medium heat and cook, without stirring, until deeply golden brown, 6–7 minutes. Stir and continue cooking until no longer pink, about 4–6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a bowl and reserve drippings in pot.
- Add onion wedges to drippings and cook over medium, without moving, until deeply charred, about 5 minutes (turn vent fan on!), flip onion wedges and continue cooking until second side is browned, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, roughly chop the stalks and fronds of one fennel bulb; sprinkle chopped stalks and fronds over onions and cook 2 minutes. Deglaze pot with 1 cup wine and cook, scraping up fond on pot, until half the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in 6 cups water, 2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon, 2 Parmesan rinds, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt; bring to a boil then reduce to a very low simmer and cook 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheese cloth, pressing firmly on solids to release as much liquid as you can (should measure about 4 ½ cups). Discard solids then return liquid to pot; cover and bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, remove and reserve fennel fronds from remaining fennel stalks. Thinly slice the stalks then halve and thinly slice both bulbs. Stir sliced fennel stalks and bulbs into stock, cover and simmer over medium heat until fennel is tender, 6–8 minutes.
- Add 4 cups tortellini and browned sausage, bring back to a simmer, cover and cook until tortellini are tender, about 3 minutes. Roughly chop reserved fennel fronds, measure ¼ cup fronds and stir into dish.
- Serve with freshly cracked black pepper.
