Italian Sausage Fennel Ramen
So this is Italian Sausage Fennel Ramen. Italian sausage that's been browned until it's crispy on the edges and releasing all that fennel-seed-spiced fat into the pan, caramelized fennel bulb that tastes like licorice decided to become a vegetable, all swimming in a tomato broth that's basically marinara's cooler, more adventurous cousin. You know how some fusion feels like it's trying too hard, like someone just mashed two cuisines together and hoped for the best? This works because Italian sausage and ramen are both fundamentally about comfort and fat and making you feel satisfied. The fennel does double duty here, the seeds in the sausage playing off the fresh bulb that's been sliced and caramelized until it's sweet and soft. The tomato broth keeps things Italian enough to feel familiar while the ramen noodles remind you this isn't just pasta fagioli that lost its way. It's hearty and warming and the kind of bowl that makes you understand why Italian grandmothers and Japanese ramen chefs both believe that good food requires time and proper seasoning.
Fennel sweetens slow—sausage breaks to spiced pieces—Italy meets steam
Let Me Tell You...
This recipe was inspired by a sandwich I had at an Italian market in Boston, where they grilled sausage and peppers and fennel on the same flat-top until everything was charred and glistening with rendered fat.
The fennel caught my attention because I'd always thought of it as that weird vegetable that tastes like black licorice, but caramelized and mixed with sausage fat, it transformed into this sweet, savory thing that made total sense.
I bought fennel on the way home, along with good Italian sausage from the same market, determined to figure out how to put those flavors in a bowl.
The sausage is crucial here and you can't cheap out.
Good Italian sausage, the kind with visible fennel seeds and enough fat to make a cardiologist nervous, is non-negotiable.
I brown it in chunks first, getting a good crust on the outside before breaking it up, because those crispy bits are where the flavor lives.
The rendered fat stays in the pan because throwing away pork fat is a crime against good cooking.
Into that fat goes the sliced fennel, which caramelizes and softens and picks up all the sausage flavor from the fond.
The whole kitchen smells like an Italian street festival, all garlic and fennel and pork.
The tomato broth needed to walk a line between pasta sauce and ramen broth.
Too thick and it becomes spaghetti, too thin and it feels incomplete.
I landed on crushed tomatoes for body, chicken stock for depth, and a hit of red wine because Italians put wine in everything and they're not wrong.
The broth simmers with the sausage and fennel, absorbing all those flavors until it's rich and savory and slightly sweet from the caramelized vegetables.
A handful of fresh basil at the end brings brightness and that essential Italian herb note that makes the whole thing smell like summer even in winter.
Now this has become my one-pot wonder, the thing I make when I want something comforting and impressive without needing multiple pots and pans.
The Italian sausage provides protein and fat and flavor, the fennel adds sweetness and aromatics, and the tomato broth ties everything together in a way that makes sense even though it probably shouldn't.
Every bowl tastes like two cuisines decided to be friends instead of competitors, and honestly, that's the kind of fusion that actually works.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces dried ramen noodles (2 bricks, seasoning packets discarded)
- 1 pound Italian sausage (sweet or hot, casings removed if in links)
- 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (reserve fronds for garnish)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Preparation
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage in large chunks and cook for 4-5 minutes without stirring, letting it brown deeply on one side.
- Break up sausage into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until browned and cooked through. Transfer sausage to a plate, leaving rendered fat in the pot.
- Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the pot. Add sliced fennel and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelized and softened.
- Add diced onion and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and oregano; cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in red wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let wine reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato paste, and bay leaves. Return browned sausage to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes to let flavors meld. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ramen noodles for 2-3 minutes until just tender, then drain and set aside.
- Remove bay leaves from the broth. Stir in torn basil and grated Parmesan until cheese melts into the broth.
- Divide noodles among bowls. Ladle hot sausage-fennel broth over the noodles, ensuring each bowl gets plenty of sausage and caramelized fennel.
- Garnish with reserved fennel fronds, additional Parmesan, torn basil, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.