Monday, March 5, 2012

Sausage & Fennel Casserole

Does it count as a casserole if there's no cream of mushroom soup dumped over the top? I dunno. Sausage & Fennel Braise, perhaps? Maybe I should just call this dish 'baked Italian deliciousness', since that's at least accurate (as long as you like fennel, which I really, really do). Add this to the 'make early and often' category.

In other news, I'm going to start adding photos to my posts, since apparently that's what all the cool kids are doing, plus my new camera has a 'gourmet' setting (whatever the hell that means, other than +$20 on the price point), with a little fork and knife icon. We'll see how this goes.

Now excuse me while I go reheat some baked Italian deliciousness for breakfast.



Sausage & Fennel Whatever
A few links of Italian sausage
1 bulb of fennel, with fronds
1 package frozen artichoke hearts
a few springs of parsley and oregano
1 cup chicken broth
a squirt or two of lemon juice
grated Romano cheese
olive oil
S&P to taste

Drizzle a little olive oil over the bottom of a baking dish.

Roughly chop the fennel. Put it in the baking dish.

Roughly chop the herbs. Sprinkle over the fennel.

Roughly chop the artichokes. Layer over the fennel and herbs.

If your sausages are frozen, cut them into inch-long chunks and distribute on top. Otherwise, try bigger pieces, or just score them down the middle so the juices drip down over the veggies while they cook.

Mix the broth and lemon juice. Pour over the whole mess.

Some breadcrumbs scattered on top might be good here, especially if you're running with the casserole idea.

Bake uncovered at around 375 til the sausage is browned and cooked through. Maybe 40 minutes?

Salt & pepper & Romano to taste. Serve with some good bread.