1. Sauté the onion.

Add about 1 tbsp of olive oil to a large sauté pan. Add the diced onion and sauté for about 5 minutes over medium heat, until the onion is translucent and starting to caramelize.

Note: If you’re making pasta, now is a good time to put on the water. If you’re making cabbage, now is a good time to start prepping. If you’re making red sauce, I usually put it on low heat before I start cooking.

2. Add the carrots and celery.

Add:

• 2/3 cup chopped carrots (relatively fine chopping – see pic below)
• 2/3 cup chopped celery (relatively fine chopping – see pic below)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• a couple of grinds of pepper

Cook for 5-7 more minutes over medium heat, until the vegetables begin to soften. 

3. Add the wine.

Add 1 cup of dry white wine to the sauté pan. Cook the vegetables in the wine for about 5 minutes, until the wine is reduced and mostly absorbed by the vegetables. 

Take the vegetables out of the pan before they’re totally dry. Set aside.

4. Cook the sausage.

Wipe out the pan and turn up the heat to high. Add 1 tbsp of olive oil.

Split the sausage casings open with a paring knife (see picture below). Take the sausages out of the casing and throw out the casings. (I use gloves and a dishwash-able paring knife for this part to maximize laziness.) 

Plop the sausages into the hot pan. Break apart the sausages into pieces using a spatula. Don’t go crazy, as this will get a bit easier to do after the sausage cooks a bit. Add the 2 tsp of fennel seeds.

Let the sausage sit for about 3-5 minutes, until it has browned on the bottom. Then stir and continue breaking apart the sausages into small pieces. 

 Let it cook for another 3-5 minutes undisturbed to let the sausage brown again.  Continue until the sausage is cooked through. Below is how the sausage should look when it’s done.

Note: Now is a good time to add the pasta (about 8 ounces) to the water. If you’re having cabbage, start cooking!

5. Add back the vegetables.

Once the sausage is cooked through and browned (usually takes me about 12 minutes), add back the vegetables. Stir together and let it cook over medium heat for another 5-7 minutes. Turn off the heat and sprinkle with oregano or thyme if using.

6. Enjoy!

Toss pasta with olive oil or red sauce. Serve over pasta or cabbage. Sprinkle some parmesan on there too.