Tim, sometimes it scares me how much our (great) minds think alike! I made a baked pasta dish a few months back with greens — almost a deconstructed lasagna. It was incredibly delicious but the photos came out so terribly (unlike yours) it will be hard to convince anyone else of that! Perhaps I’ll try yours next and hope my photo mojo will be back by then.
Ha, that is funny Deb! What is even funnier is that I almost didn’t post this one because I didn’t really like the photos. But ultimately I decided it was too good to not share. Maybe baked pasta doesn’t photograph so well? (I know it can’t be us! ha)
I love fennel. I usually only use it when I sprinkle it over butternut squash before baking (really good), but I’ve never used it in a pasta dish. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a vegetarian personal chef and I don’t make a lot of pasta for my clients because so much of it requires last minute cooking. This looks like a great and hearty dish that they would enjoy putting in the oven. Thanks for sharing!
Mmm. This looks so warm and comforting. I made a pasta dish with fennel very recently too. It really does add great flavor to pasta. Yum, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Wow, this looks really good. I’ll bet if you added about 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms of your choice to the saute of the garlic, greens etc., it would be even better! (I love dishes like this with cheeses and greens and mushrooms, in any combination!) Thanks for sharing!
A few weeks ago, I made homemade orecchiette. I’ve still got a ball of dough frozen in my fridge and this might be the perfect opportunity to pull it out!
I made this for a potluck and ended up embarrassed as it sat untouched on people’s plates. I think the fennel seed was about 50% too much. I used the tablespoon the recipe called for and the taste was so strong as to be gag-inducing. Next time I think I would just skip the spices and use italian sausage. This was probably the worst dish I’ve made in recent memory :(
Hi Lynne, I am sorry you didn’t like this recipe. I have made this multiple times and love it—I guess
our tastes just differ on this one. Better luck next time!
Sorry Tim–I didn’t mean to be grouchy :( I just can’t figure out what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter, including making fresh ricotta (also your recipe which I love & have been using for a while!) but it just turned out so unappetizing. It looked just like the picture but no one ate it and to me it was overwhelmingly fennel-y. Is some fennel seed more potent than others maybe? The seeds I used were relatively fresh and I just gave them a quick zing in my spice grinder to smash them lightly. I wish I knew how I managed to bork this recipe–it looked great! :(
Hi Lynne,
It is possible that you ground the seeds too much? When I make it I just sort of lightly crush the seeds, but they remain whole–not ground up at all. HMmmmmm. It is a mystery!
I made this a few nights ago with rigatoni (what I had on hand) and thought it was fantastic. The fennel (which I love) gave the suggestion of sausage without the sausage.
Because the rigatoni is so much larger I used less of it (like 3/4 lb) which worked out really well. Thanks Tim!
This look so good I may play with it when I make it. I do want to maybe use some turkey or chicken sausage, fresh spinach, not sure if I can find the exact pasta at my grocery store but will try.
I made this a couple of nights ago and it was such a success we polished off the lot. The flavours really did taste like sausage. I used French beans instead of greens, and forgot to crush the fennel seeds, but it tasted great. Will definitely make this again, thanks Tim.
Is there any way to substitute the cheese/flavor for a lactose intolerant person other than soy cheese products? I absolutely LOVE fennel and orecchiette; this dish looks amazing…any ideas?
Hey Sam,
I eat cheese with almost every meal, so I’m probably not the best person to ask. Since there are so few ingredients in this dish, they all seem important. You could try adding another vegetable (butternut squash?) but it takes it in another direction. Sorry I’m not more helpful….let me know if you experiment and come up with something good!
Just saw this recipe when I was trying to figure out what to do with the Chard in our CSA. Do you know if this freezes well? And would it be better to freeze before baking or after?
Hi Bryna,
I haven’t tried freezing, but my guess is that it won’t freeze well. There isn’t enough to it, and the ricotta will get weird. I would probably just saute and freeze the kale, if I were going to try anything. Then make the dish with frozen kale.
How did I only find your blog now?! I’ve been fast making up for lost time by perusing your wonderful archives. This was by far the most delicious baked pasta I’ve ever made – and also the quickest! Definitely going to make this again and again and again. I was sceptical of the sausage seasoning idea but I’m going to use that concept in so many dishes from now on. That fennel really made the meal.
Sam, I just wanted to respond to your question about lactose-free versions. I was actually looking at this recipe and thinking I would probably sub a raw vegan alfredo for the cheese :) Sounded odd the first time I read about it, but I thought I’d give it a shot… O.O.M.G. … It was insane. By far the BEST alfredo I’ve ever had, and without the saturated fat & cholesterol (as well as mistreated animal friends). You soak almonds in water overnight, and blend with fresh garlic cloves, olive oil, cannelini beans, 1/8 onion, and nutritional yeast, for B-Vitamins and a cheesy taste. It is absolutely amazing. I have to go make some now…!!! lol. You can just Google “raw vegan alfredo” and read through different ones; even look on YouTube for videos. I really love blending in cilantro… Omg tastes amazing! :) And it’s a great chelator; traps & removes heavy metals from our bodies. Awesome side effect of delicious goodness. Have fun! (Sorry this is just a touch after the fact, I’m just now finding this, but thought I’d try commenting anyway :) Have fun trying it out :) )
Also, I sing, but I don’t live in Australia either lol. Totally want to go visit though… Have a great day :)
Loading ...
maggie says:
January 21st, 2009 at 10:26 am
What a smart idea. I feel like fennel seeds make everything better.
deb says:
January 21st, 2009 at 11:10 am
Tim, sometimes it scares me how much our (great) minds think alike! I made a baked pasta dish a few months back with greens — almost a deconstructed lasagna. It was incredibly delicious but the photos came out so terribly (unlike yours) it will be hard to convince anyone else of that! Perhaps I’ll try yours next and hope my photo mojo will be back by then.
Tim says:
January 21st, 2009 at 11:13 am
Ha, that is funny Deb! What is even funnier is that I almost didn’t post this one because I didn’t really like the photos. But ultimately I decided it was too good to not share. Maybe baked pasta doesn’t photograph so well? (I know it can’t be us! ha)
Hayley says:
January 21st, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I love fennel. I usually only use it when I sprinkle it over butternut squash before baking (really good), but I’ve never used it in a pasta dish. Thanks for sharing.
Dana says:
January 21st, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I’m a vegetarian personal chef and I don’t make a lot of pasta for my clients because so much of it requires last minute cooking. This looks like a great and hearty dish that they would enjoy putting in the oven. Thanks for sharing!
Y says:
January 21st, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Great idea, using the sausage seasonings. This dish looks lovely. If only it wasn’t so warm here, because I suddenly have a craving for baked pasta :)
The Duo Dishes says:
January 21st, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Meat flavors without the meat. Great idea.
Caroline says:
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 am
So excited to visit… heard about you through Steph W.
Your site is purty…..
Tim says:
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am
Welcome Caroline! Your site is pretty too and that carrot cake looks ridiculously good. I’ll be making it soon.
lisa (dandysugar) says:
January 25th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Mmm. This looks so warm and comforting. I made a pasta dish with fennel very recently too. It really does add great flavor to pasta. Yum, thanks for sharing this delicious recipe.
Calypso says:
February 14th, 2009 at 4:56 am
Something about this winter has really motivated me to do all sorts of baked pasta or strata dishes. This one looks yummy! Thanks!
stacey says:
February 18th, 2009 at 7:37 am
What a beautiful site…I found yours through pioneerwoman.com
Love this recipe too. I’m sure this is something even my picky 11 year old would love.
Momcatusa says:
February 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Wow, this looks really good. I’ll bet if you added about 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms of your choice to the saute of the garlic, greens etc., it would be even better! (I love dishes like this with cheeses and greens and mushrooms, in any combination!) Thanks for sharing!
Kasey says:
February 20th, 2009 at 11:41 am
A few weeks ago, I made homemade orecchiette. I’ve still got a ball of dough frozen in my fridge and this might be the perfect opportunity to pull it out!
Tim says:
February 20th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Hi Momcat: Mushrooms would be a nice addition, good idea.
Kasey: That would be amazing. I want to try making orecchiette at home.
Rachel says:
December 5th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Oh very nice indeed….
Lynne says:
December 14th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
I made this for a potluck and ended up embarrassed as it sat untouched on people’s plates. I think the fennel seed was about 50% too much. I used the tablespoon the recipe called for and the taste was so strong as to be gag-inducing. Next time I think I would just skip the spices and use italian sausage. This was probably the worst dish I’ve made in recent memory :(
Tim says:
December 14th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Hi Lynne, I am sorry you didn’t like this recipe. I have made this multiple times and love it—I guess
our tastes just differ on this one. Better luck next time!
Lynne says:
December 15th, 2009 at 1:03 am
Sorry Tim–I didn’t mean to be grouchy :( I just can’t figure out what I did wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter, including making fresh ricotta (also your recipe which I love & have been using for a while!) but it just turned out so unappetizing. It looked just like the picture but no one ate it and to me it was overwhelmingly fennel-y. Is some fennel seed more potent than others maybe? The seeds I used were relatively fresh and I just gave them a quick zing in my spice grinder to smash them lightly. I wish I knew how I managed to bork this recipe–it looked great! :(
Lynne says:
December 15th, 2009 at 1:04 am
PS. I have another batch of your Apple Jellies simmering on the stove and those I know are winners :)
Tim says:
December 15th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Hi Lynne,
It is possible that you ground the seeds too much? When I make it I just sort of lightly crush the seeds, but they remain whole–not ground up at all. HMmmmmm. It is a mystery!
tinarina says:
December 17th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I made this a few nights ago with rigatoni (what I had on hand) and thought it was fantastic. The fennel (which I love) gave the suggestion of sausage without the sausage.
Because the rigatoni is so much larger I used less of it (like 3/4 lb) which worked out really well. Thanks Tim!
Lauren says:
January 9th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
This look so good I may play with it when I make it. I do want to maybe use some turkey or chicken sausage, fresh spinach, not sure if I can find the exact pasta at my grocery store but will try.
Hannah says:
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:31 pm
I made this a couple of nights ago and it was such a success we polished off the lot. The flavours really did taste like sausage. I used French beans instead of greens, and forgot to crush the fennel seeds, but it tasted great. Will definitely make this again, thanks Tim.
Sam says:
January 22nd, 2011 at 7:07 pm
Is there any way to substitute the cheese/flavor for a lactose intolerant person other than soy cheese products? I absolutely LOVE fennel and orecchiette; this dish looks amazing…any ideas?
Tim says:
January 22nd, 2011 at 10:37 pm
Hey Sam,
I eat cheese with almost every meal, so I’m probably not the best person to ask. Since there are so few ingredients in this dish, they all seem important. You could try adding another vegetable (butternut squash?) but it takes it in another direction. Sorry I’m not more helpful….let me know if you experiment and come up with something good!
Bryna says:
June 28th, 2011 at 11:00 am
Just saw this recipe when I was trying to figure out what to do with the Chard in our CSA. Do you know if this freezes well? And would it be better to freeze before baking or after?
Tim says:
June 28th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
Hi Bryna,
I haven’t tried freezing, but my guess is that it won’t freeze well. There isn’t enough to it, and the ricotta will get weird. I would probably just saute and freeze the kale, if I were going to try anything. Then make the dish with frozen kale.
Bryna says:
June 28th, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Thanks for the swift reply!
Lavender says:
January 27th, 2012 at 9:08 pm
Hi Tim, I know this is weird but was heather a singing teacher who lived in Australia??
Tim says:
January 27th, 2012 at 9:23 pm
Lavender- Ha! No, but that would be cool if she was. Our Heather does not sing and never lived in Australia. : )
Vidya says:
June 7th, 2013 at 5:26 am
How did I only find your blog now?! I’ve been fast making up for lost time by perusing your wonderful archives. This was by far the most delicious baked pasta I’ve ever made – and also the quickest! Definitely going to make this again and again and again. I was sceptical of the sausage seasoning idea but I’m going to use that concept in so many dishes from now on. That fennel really made the meal.
Heather says:
December 16th, 2013 at 1:15 am
Sam, I just wanted to respond to your question about lactose-free versions. I was actually looking at this recipe and thinking I would probably sub a raw vegan alfredo for the cheese :) Sounded odd the first time I read about it, but I thought I’d give it a shot… O.O.M.G. … It was insane. By far the BEST alfredo I’ve ever had, and without the saturated fat & cholesterol (as well as mistreated animal friends). You soak almonds in water overnight, and blend with fresh garlic cloves, olive oil, cannelini beans, 1/8 onion, and nutritional yeast, for B-Vitamins and a cheesy taste. It is absolutely amazing. I have to go make some now…!!! lol. You can just Google “raw vegan alfredo” and read through different ones; even look on YouTube for videos. I really love blending in cilantro… Omg tastes amazing! :) And it’s a great chelator; traps & removes heavy metals from our bodies. Awesome side effect of delicious goodness. Have fun! (Sorry this is just a touch after the fact, I’m just now finding this, but thought I’d try commenting anyway :) Have fun trying it out :) )
Also, I sing, but I don’t live in Australia either lol. Totally want to go visit though… Have a great day :)