Page 81 - UMass2018_CookBook

Preparation (CONTINUED)
3. Push the sausage-onion mixture to the side and add the chopped fennel bulb to a clear part of the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes or more, then stir the fennel in with the sausage and onions. Sprinkle with 1⁄4 teaspoon salt and add the peperoncino to a hot spot in the pan and toast for 30 seconds, then stir them in with the other ingredients.
4. Clear a good-size hot spot in the center of the pan, add the tomato paste and cook, stirring it in the spot, until it is sizzling and caramelizing, 1 to 2 minutes, then stir it in with the other ingredients.
5. Ladle 3 cups of the boiling pasta water from the pot into the skillet, stir well and bring the liquid to a boil. Adjust the heat to maintain an active simmer all over the pan.
6. To cook the pasta, add the 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta to the boiling water in the pot. Stir and return to a boil. Cook until the pasta is not quite al dente, about 8 minutes (1 minute less than the package instructions).
7. Meanwhile, continue to simmer the sauce until the flavors have developed and the fennel is soft but not mushy, 6 to 8 minutes. The sauce should not get too thick; if it does, stir in another 1 or 2 cups boiling pasta water. When the sauce is done, adjust the seasoning with salt. If the pasta is not ready, lower the heat to keep the sauce at a very low simmer until the pasta is done, then raise the heat.
8. When the pasta is done, lift it out of the pot with a spider. Let the excess water drip off only for an instant, then drop the wet pasta into the simmering sauce. Start tossing the pasta and sauce together, ladling in more water if the sauce seems too thick. Sprinkle with the chopped fennel fronds and continue to cook and toss the pasta in the skillet until perfectly al dente and coated with sauce, about 2 minutes. If the pasta appears dry, ladle in more hot pasta water; if it is soupy, cook rapidly to thicken the sauce.
9. Remove the skillet from the heat, sprinkle the cheese over the pasta and toss to combine. Serve the hot pasta directly from the skillet into warmed pasta bowls.
NOTE: I suggest using hot sausage; if so, omit the peperoncino.
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