Fennel and Sausage Meat Sauce

This is fennel and sausage meat sauce is a new sauce recipe that I whipped up the other day and is probably one of my favorite meat sauces yet. I’ve been toying with small bits of highly fermented, low-lactose cheese (usually raw or grass-fed) in my diet and have learned that I can tolerate very small amounts on occasion and feel okay. This is fine for me right now, but does not mean it’s okay for you…remember that.

With that said, I simmered some Parmesan rinds in this sauce to add another element of flavor, but the rinds can easily be left out. If you do tolerate small amounts of cheese, I encourage you to try using the rinds because it adds an amazing flavor. This is something I learned to do years ago from a chef at a fine Italian restaurant here in Portland. I was vegetarian then and he told me it was an easy way to add more flavor to sauces since I didn’t eat meat. He was right, but guess what? It’s even more flavorful when used in tandem with meat in sauces. No surprise there. So, anyway take the rinds or leave ’em, but do what works for you.

Cheers and enjoy!

Fennel and Sausage Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Tbsp grass-fed butter, ghee or coconut oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
• 3/4 lb ground spicy Italian pork or chicken sausage
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• Sea salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
• Up to 1 cup bone broth, if needed
• 1 or 2 Parmesan rinds, optional (can be found in cheese sections of some stores, like Whole Foods)

Directions:

1. Melt butter, ghee or coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Then, add the onion, garlic and fennel; stir. After a few minutes, add the pork sausage and ground beef, and break up the meat with a spatula.
2. Continue to brown the meat, stirring occasionally. After about 7 minutes or so, when the meat is browned, add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, sea salt and pepper and cayenne or red pepper flakes. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Add the Parmesan rind(s), if using.
3. Continue to simmer the sauce for 20-30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add splashes of bone broth during simmering time, if needed.
4. Once done, remove Parmesan rinds and serve sauce atop of spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles or other vegetable of choice.

Yields: 4-5 servings