LIDIA'S ZITI WITH SAUSAGE, ONIONS AND FENNEL

Water for boiling pasta
Salt
1 pound sweet Italian, chicken or other sausage
1 large fennel bulb with stem
2 medium onions
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried hot pepper flakes
1 pound ziti or other tube pasta, uncooked
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Heat 6 quarts water to boiling; add 1 tablespoon salt.

Remove casing (if any) from sausage; break up meat.

Trim ends of fennel bulb. Rinse; slice bulb in half lengthwise; slice each half into 1/4-inch thick lengthwise slices. Cut fennel slivers in half to get about 3 cups of matchstick-size pieces. Chop and reserve dark green stems for garnish, if desired.

Halve onions; cut halves into thin slices.

Heat the olive oil in a large range-to-table skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage meat; cook, stirring and breaking up until it begins to brown.

Push to the side and add onion slices, stirring until they soften. Stir them into the meat.

Push to the side and add fennel slices; cook until fennel is soft. Stir into sausage mixture. Stir mixture to the side, adding tomato paste to the cleared part of the skillet. Cook and stir for a minute.

Ladle 3 cups of the boiling water into the skillet, stirring all sauce ingredients together and adjusting the heat so that the sauce will simmer. Season with salt, pepper and hot pepper flakes.

Add the ziti to the boiling water; stir and return to a boil. Cook 8 minutes, or until it is not quite al dente (a slight resistance when bitten into).

Let sauce simmer until fennel is soft and flavors have developed. If sauce thickens too much, stir in some pasta water. Taste sauce, adding more salt if needed.

Lift ziti from water and stir into simmering sauce. Toss sauce and ziti, adding more pasta water if needed if sauce is too thick. Continue to toss and cook until well mixed and pasta is al dente.

Sprinkle top with reserved chopped fennel fronds, if desired. Remove from heat; sprinkle with grated cheese and serve from the skillet.

Servings: 6
Adapted from source: Lidia's Family Table by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich