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Fennel and Italian Sausage Stew
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: Less than 90 minutes
Most people probably don’t use fennel enough. I know I don’t.
This meal came out of my desire to “use fennel more” and to make a stew celebrating the flavors of Italian sausage while using a modest amount of actual sausage.
Servings/Suggestions
If you really need more meat, and want to use 2 pounds of sausage, go for it. If you do so, I recommend browning the sausage in two batches. Also, don’t leave all of the fat behind because that will just be too much. Leave 1 or 2 tablespoons after you have finished browning the sausage.
The eggplant doesn’t need to be perfectly diced. As it cooks it will soften and shrink. It will also lose shape and become more of a thickener and texture for the stew. The reason we are peeling it it because as the eggplant cooks, the meat of the vegetable will likely separate from the skin and the skin on it’s own is not something you want floating in your stew.
The heat: If you buy spicy Italian sausage, you may not want to add a much Calabrian chili. Then again, if you buy spicy Italian sausage, something tells me you are going to add a lot of Calabrian chili…
The liquid: I used a quite gelatinous pork broth that I had in my freezer. You can use chicken or veggie broth or even water.
Fresh herbs: Feel free to garnish with fresh basil or to include fresh thyme in the stew
For coring and seeding the Roma tomatoes, just use a spoon
Ingredients
1 eggplant, peeled and diced
16 oz Italian sausage
We are going to remove the casing, so if you can buy it ground and not made into sausages, do that. Most grocery stores have this option.
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 fennel bulbs
reserve the fennel fronds
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
2.5 teaspoons dried oregano
1 can (approximately 15 oz) Cannellini beans (preferably no salt added), rinsed
2 parsnips
7 finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
1 quart (32 oz) of stock or water
We may need some extra liquid later and water will be fine
1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
chopped Calabrian chilis, to taste
These also come in a jar in oil
extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a few pinches here and there
Diamond Crystal preferred
1 lemon
ricotta cheese
I went with low fat, since I also want to finish with a drizzle of olive oil
Mise en place
(Set yourself up for success before you start cooking)
Slice the onion
Cut in half through the root, remove the skin and the outer layer of onion, then thinly slice
Rinse all of the other vegetables
Rinse the beans
Directions
Step 1
Heat up a pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the grapeseed oil. Now add the sausage. We want to brown the sausage to start building our first layer of flavor. Do your best to get as much of the sausage in contact with the bottom of your cooking surface as possible, and then let it sit for 4 minutes or so so that it can brown. After you have some nice browning on one side, break the sausage up into bite sized pieces and and let the other side brown for a few minutes.
Line a plate with paper towels. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon onto the plate.
Step 2
Add the fennel seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and stir well. Cook until the onions brown a bit and soften, around 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, slice 1 bulb of fennel. Cut in half through the root and then thinly slice.
Step 3
After the onions brown and soften, add the fennel. We want the fennel and the onions to caramelize, and this will take around 15 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, peel and dice the eggplant.
Once the fennel and onions are caramelized, add the eggplant, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir well. Cook for around 10 minutes, with the lid on. Stir halfway.
Meanwhile, core, seed and dice the tomatoes and chop the garlic.
Step 4
After 10 minutes, remove the lid and add the garlic. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes or so.
Add the tomatoes, Calabrian chilis (around a spoonful), 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano, and stock. Stir well and bring to a boil. Let it boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the parsnips. It is okay that they are different sizes, just make sure they are bite sized pieces since this is a soup.
After 5 minutes of boiling, add the beans, the parsnips, and a big pinch of salt. At this point, you may also need to add some water if the stew is too thick. Do that now.
Stir well and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway.
Meanwhile, chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
Step 5
Taste – taste the broth. Does it need more heat? More salt? Fix that now. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes, an additional teaspoon of oregano. Stir and simmer, covered, for 10 more minutes.
Meanwhile, it is time to slice the second bulb of fennel. Do exactly what you did the first time, but then chop it up a bit more. We are mostly adding this for texture, so we don’t want a giant pieces of fennel.
Step 6
Fish out of a piece of parsnip. Is it too firm? If so, simmer a bit longer. If it is fine, continue.
Add the sausage, the fennel, the zest from 1/2 of the lemon and the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Stir well, increase heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Step 7
Ladle the stew into bowls. Place a big spoonful of ricotta in the center. Add some of the fennel fronds and lemon zest. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
FENNEL AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE STEW
ingredients:
- 1 eggplant, peeled and diced
- 16 oz Italian sausage
- We are going to remove the casing, so if you can buy it ground and not made into sausages, do that. Most grocery stores have this option.
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 2 fennel bulbs
- reserve the fennel fronds
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 Roma tomatoes, cored, seeded and diced
- 2.5 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 can (approximately 15 oz) Cannellini beans (preferably no salt added), rinsed
- 2 parsnips
- 7 finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes
- from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
- 1 quart (32 oz) of stock or water
- We may need some extra liquid later and water will be fine
- 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
- chopped Calabrian chilis, to taste
- These also come in a jar in oil
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a few pinches here and there
- Diamond Crystal preferred
- 1 lemon
- ricotta cheese
- I went with low fat, since I also want to finish with a drizzle of olive oil
instructions:
How to cook FENNEL AND ITALIAN SAUSAGE STEW
- Heat up a pot or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the grapeseed oil. Now add the sausage. We want to brown the sausage to start building our first layer of flavor. Do your best to get as much of the sausage in contact with the bottom of your cooking surface as possible, and then let it sit for 4 minutes or so so that it can brown. After you have some nice browning on one side, break the sausage up into bite sized pieces and and let the other side brown for a few minutes. Line a plate with paper towels. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon onto the plate.
- Add the fennel seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and stir well. Cook until the onions brown a bit and soften, around 5 minutes. Meanwhile, slice 1 bulb of fennel. Cut in half through the root and then thinly slice.
- After the onions brown and soften, add the fennel. We want the fennel and the onions to caramelize, and this will take around 15 minutes or so. Meanwhile, peel and dice the eggplant. Once the fennel and onions are caramelized, add the eggplant, a pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir well. Cook for around 10 minutes, with the lid on. Stir halfway. Meanwhile, core, seed and dice the tomatoes and chop the garlic.
- After 10 minutes, remove the lid and add the garlic. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, Calabrian chilis (around a spoonful), 1.5 teaspoons dried oregano, and stock. Stir well and bring to a boil. Let it boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, peel and chop the parsnips. It is okay that they are different sizes, just make sure they are bite sized pieces since this is a soup. After 5 minutes of boiling, add the beans, the parsnips, and a big pinch of salt. At this point, you may also need to add some water if the stew is too thick. Do that now. Stir well and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring halfway. Meanwhile, chop the sun-dried tomatoes.
- Taste – taste the broth. Does it need more heat? More salt? Fix that now. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes, an additional teaspoon of oregano. Stir and simmer, covered, for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, it is time to slice the second bulb of fennel. Do exactly what you did the first time, but then chop it up a bit more. We are mostly adding this for texture, so we don’t want a giant pieces of fennel.
- Fish out of a piece of parsnip. Is it too firm? If so, simmer a bit longer. If it is fine, continue. Add the sausage, the fennel, the zest from 1/2 of the lemon and the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Stir well, increase heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Ladle the stew into bowls. Place a big spoonful of ricotta in the center. Add some of the fennel fronds and lemon zest. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.