Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Fennel

Name: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and Fennel
Yield: Serves 4
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 (see note); 2 tablespoons, juice from 1 lemon; 1 pound, whole-wheat spaghetti (see photo below); 1 ounce, grated Pecorino Romano cheese (about 1/2 cup)

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated March/April 2010

Main Courses

Pasta

Pork

Tomato sauce is almost never the right choice for capitalizing on this pasta’s robust flavor. Neither is cream sauce or pesto. So what is?

SERVES4

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

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 ...

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