Weekend Cooking... Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Fennel

We all want to eat a little healthier if we can, don't we?
And while I am not willing to give up my pasta, I have considered that a switch to whole wheat pasta might be an improvement. But as my friends at America's Test Kitchen point out, whole wheat pasta has a firmer texture and a more forceful flavor that the regular variety and not every sauce may work as well with it. So, I decided to give one of ATK recipes with the whole wheat variety a try.

First, I took advantage of a recent taste test of various brands that they published and bought the brand that was the winner, Bionaturae Organic 100 Percent Whole-Wheat Spaghetti. I did not even bother looking for it at my supermarket but instead bought some online at Amazon.

And I must say, I was very happy with the results.
This is a VERY flavorful, VERY fragrant dish..
Now, I did make one changed and double the sausage, because the pack I bought had about a pound in it and I figured I would use it all and I would use that much again. Otherwise I stuck to the recipe. The pasta is excellent. I must see what other shapes they sell because where as I have never been a big whole wheat pasta fan, I really like this one and I think this recipe would be excellent with other short shapes. Maybe some orecchiette...
I will warn you this dish is a little spicy. That red pepper really blooms in the oil, so if you like things a little milder you may want to cut that back a bit. And being a fan of fennel, I think I might use two bulbs, or at least a bigger one than I had. But otherwise, a delicious, rather hearty pasta dish.

"We wanted to create a whole wheat pasta sauce recipe that would provide just the right complement to the hearty flavor and firm texture of whole-wheat spaghetti. We found that a boldly flavored sauce made with sausage and chunks of sautéed fennel provides a nice counterpoint to the whole-wheat pasta’s hearty texture. Starch from some added pasta liquid thickens the sauce and helps it cling to the spaghetti. A sprinkling of freshly grated Pecorino Romano, which our tasters preferred to the more subtle Parmesan, adds a salty tang to a simply sauced whole-wheat spaghetti recipe."

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, minced and pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons)
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Table salt
8 ounces sweet Italian sausage , removed from casing
1 medium fennel bulb , halved, cored, and sliced thin
1/2 cup pine nuts , toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
1 ounce grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions

1. Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in small bowl; set aside.
2. Heat sausage in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; cook, stirring to break sausage into ½-inch pieces, until browned and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage to paper towel-lined plate, leaving rendered fat in skillet. (my sausage was so lean I has virtually no oil, so I added a bit of the one I had soaking with the red pepper) Return skillet to medium-high heat, add fennel and ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring frequently, until fennel is tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Push fennel to sides of skillet to create 3-inch clearing; add oil-garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, (Ok, this smells so good) about 1 minute. Stir to combine garlic mixture with fennel and cook for 1 minute longer. Remove skillet from heat and stir in sausage, pine nuts, basil, and lemon juice.(Wow, now it smells even better!)
4. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water; cook until al dente. Reserve ¾ cup pasta cooking water, drain pasta, and return pasta to Dutch oven.
5. Add sauce and reserved cooking water to pasta and toss to coat. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to serving bowl, sprinkle with cheese, and serve.

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This is my contribution this to this week's Weekend Cooking.
"Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend."
Be sure to check out the other entries this week. As always, hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

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