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Rice Bowl with Sausage and Fennel

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Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 30 minutes

In How to Cook Everything Fast, recipe directions are separated into “prep” and “cook.” Here, we’ve made that distinction with italics for prep-work and plain text for cooking. This reflects the most efficient order and timing of tasks. 

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups short-grain white rice
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling (optional)
  • 1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage links
  • 2 medium fennel bulbs (about 1 pound)
  • Pepper
  • 1 or 2 lemons for serving (optional)
  • Several sprigs fresh basil
  • Red chile flakes to taste

Instructions

  1. Put 1 1/2 cups rice in a medium saucepan; add a big pinch of salt and water to cover by about an inch. Bring to a boil.
  2. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Cut the sausages into slices; add them to the skillet.
    Trim and halve the fennel, chopping some of the fronds for garnish. Thinly slice the bulbs and add to the skillet.
  4. Sprinkle the sausage and fennel with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is browned and the fennel is soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
  5. Quarter and seed the lemons.
  6. When the rice mixture boils, adjust the heat so it bubbles steadily but not vigorously. Cover and cook undisturbed until small craters appear on the surface of the rice, 10 to 15 minutes.
  7. Strip the leaves from several basil sprigs and chop.
  8. When small craters appear, tip the saucepan to see if any liquid remains. If so, re-cover and keep cooking until the rice is sticky and no water remains, checking every minute or two.
  9. Serve the rice with the sausage and fennel spooned over the top. Garnish with the basil, fennel fronds, and a sprinkle of red chile flakes and serve. Pass olive oil and lemon wedges at the table if you like.

— Recipe from How to Cook Everything Fast

Recipe variations

Rice Bowl with Chorizo and Pineapple Pleasantly sweet, tart, and spicy. Substitute fresh Mexican-style chorizo for the Italian sausage and 1 small pineapple for the fennel. Trim the top and bottom from the pineapple, then working downward on the fruit, slice away the skin. Cut the flesh from the core and chop it into bite-sized pieces. Proceed as directed. Use cilantro instead of the basil, and serve with 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco and lime wedges instead of extra olive oil and the lemon.

Rice Bowl with Brats, Onions, and Pickles Omit the cheese and lemon. Use bratwurst instead of the Italian sausage and 2 sliced white onions instead of the fennel. After the onions soften in Step 3, add 1 cup sliced bread-and-butter pickles and some of their brine to the skillet. Garnish the bowls with fresh chopped dill instead of basil.

Rice Bowl with Lamb and Eggplant Instead of the Italian sausage, use 1 pound ground lamb. After it browns, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and salt and pepper. Substitute 1 pound eggplant for the fennel; trim, leave the skin on if you like, and cut into 1-inch cubes. When you add the eggplant in Step 3, add 1/2 cup water. Garnish with crumbled feta instead of the Parmesan and chopped mint instead of the basil; serve with the lemon wedges.