My three-year-old told me this meal was good enough for a dinner party, gave me a high five, and cleaned his plate. If that’s not a convincing enough reason to give it a try then I don’t know what is…
Serves: 4
Total Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
1lb. Rigatoni pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, diced
1lb. Italian fennel sausage, ground*
1 tsp. fennel seed
1 tsp. Herbes de Provence
1/2. tsp salt
2 tablespoons flour
1.5 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
toppings: grated Parmesan, chopped fresh parsley, salt and pepper to taste
*You can certainly substitute regular ground beef if that’s what you have on hand. I’ve made it both ways and it was equally delicious.
Method:
Cook and drain rigatoni, set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large saucepan, add diced onion. Cook on medium high heat until translucent. Add meat, fennel, salt and Herbes de Provence. When fully cooked, remove meat and set aside. Turn down heat to medium low. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in pan, add flour. Then slowly add milk while constantly whisking. When fully combined (like béchamel), add sour cream and garlic. Stir to combine. Then add meat and rigatoni. Stir and serve topped with Parmesan and parsley.
Emmy Goulet 