Pasta with Wild Fennel and Sausage

This afternoon, I took a walk down to the creek near my house to pick some wild fennel fronds. Wild fennel are different from the ones you buy at the supermarket or farmer's market, as they do not produce a large edible white bulb and the fronds have a distinctive flavor of anise. Note: Be sure to pick them away from the roadside and in areas that are not expose to traffic, smog, or dogs. For my sanity, I steep the fronds in water mixed with a teaspoon of salt for about 5 minutes and rinse it well.

Ingredients:
½ lb penne rigatoni
A good handful of wild fennel fronds
½ lb fresh Italian sausage (hot or sweet)
4 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Rinse and drain fennel fronds well. Bring a large pot of water to a fast boil with enough water to cover the fennel. Add the fronds and boil for about 10 minutes to remove any insects. Remove and drain into a colander. When cool enough to handle, chop and mince the cooked fennel. Reserve the water to cook the pasta.
2. With a knife slice open the sausage casing and break the meat into small clumps. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan and fry garlic and sausage meat over moderate heat. Cook the meat until it is no longer pink and begins to brown on the sides. Break into smaller chunks with a wooden spoon, add fennel greens and stir well to mix with the oil. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.
3. Add a tsp of salt into the strained fennel water and cook pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain pasta and add it to the pan with the sausage and fennel. Continue to cook over low heat for about 2 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the flavor of the sauce. Add some pasta water if you prefer more sauce. Serve warm.
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Baked Stuffed Sombreroni

I found this adorable pasta over the holidays at a specialty shop in Palo Alto. They have a good selection on display of the different type’s of pasta in shapes of flowers, bow ties, and much more. I was fascinated by this particular one in lovely stripes of yellow, red, orange and green. Sombreroni, or large Mexican hats are little fun-shaped pasta. Made by Pozzo del Re, this colorful pasta is hand crafted in Italy. The hues of green, red, orange, and yellow stem from natural and dehydrated ingredients that are added to the flour mix. Green is from spinach, yellow is turmeric, red is tomato or beet root. Bon Appétit!
Ingredients:
10 Sombreroni shells
¾ lb lean ground beef
½ onion, finely chopped
2 cups spinach, chopped
2 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup cheddar chesese, grated
1 jar good quality spaghetti sauce
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
cilantro for garnishing
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta shells according to directions on package.
2. Heat oil in skillet and sauté onion and garlic until soft. Add ground beef and fry for about 5 minutes, then the chopped spinach. Stir to mix well and remove from heat. Drain off excess oil.
3. Mix in the breadcrumbs, nutmeg, only half of the cheeses, and then followed by the egg mixture. When mixture is cool enough to handle, stuff cooked shells with the mixture.

4. In a baking tray, spread half of the spaghetti sauce. Arrange stuffed shells side by side into baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells and sprinkle with the rest of the cheeses. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes until sauce and cheese are bubbly and cooked through. Remove from oven and sprinkle the top with the rest of cheeses and cilantro. Serve warm.
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Potato Dumplings/Gnocchi

Gnocchi, pronounced as "nyo kee" is one of our favorite Italian dishes. The word, Gnocchi is the plural for the word, gnocco which is the singular form. It is a small dumpling made with potatoes, flour, and sometimes with cheese. The shape of this dumpling is form and cut by hand, and pre-cooked in boiling water. It is served in the same manner as any pasta, favorably with either a white, red sauce, or a simple dressing with your favorite vegetables to bring out the freshness and lightness of these dumplings. I have seen it pan fried in oil and tossed with mixed greens. For this installment, I am going to serve it with a simple tomato sauce with artichokes and basil.
Ingredients:
2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
a pinch of salt
a sprig of sage
¼ cup olive or vegetable oil
Method:
1. In a large pot, steam potatoes until they are tender and soft, about 30 minutes. Drained and mash finely into a bowl or a floured board. (If you have a vegetable mill or potato ricer--this will work nicely)
2. In a large mixing bowl, add egg and salt to the center of the mashed potatoes. Stir the egg into the mashed potatoes and once it is mixed in, add in flour and fold in to mix. When it starts to clump together knead gently to form a smooth dough.
3. On a floured surface, roll and cut the dough into pieces with a floured knife. Using the palm of your hand shape each pieces into a long thin roll and cut each roll into bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch). Lay all the cut pieces of dough on to a floured tray and sprinkle some flour to prevent it from sticking. Using the tines of the fork with the concave part facing up, dip the tips of your fingers with flour; take a piece of the dough and press it down against the tines of the fork. This will form a nice indentation on one side and a ridged surface on the other. You can also press the dough on a cheese grater if you like. Continue in this manner with the rest of the dough.

5. Bring a large pot of water to a fast boil. Add the sage and a pinch of salt. In the meantime, set another bowl of ice water near the stove.
6. Drop pieces of dough into the boiling water and cook until they float. Remove them with a slotted spoon into the ice water to stop the cooking. Let it sit in the water for about 5 minutes, drained and add to a bowl. Toss in the oil and store in a cool place. In the meantime prepare your favorite sauce or vegetables. Serve warm.
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