Vanilla Olive Oil and Fennel Sausage Pasta

Ingredients
  • 1 lb cooked pasta
  • 8 oz sweet fennel sausage
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 2 oz vanilla bean olive oil
  • 1 oz extra virgin olive oil
  • pistachios (crushed)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • parmagiano reggiano
  • salt & pepper
Instructions
Arizona has a lot to offer, but olive oil was one of the last things I imagined would be locally made. Today I toured the Queen Creek Olive Mill and came away with two oils- an extra virgin and a vanilla bean infused extra-virgin. Down the street from the olive mill is a place called The Pork Shop, where I bought a pound of fennel sausage(the same fennel sausage Chris Bianco uses at Pizzeria Bianco) and a half pound of pepperoni. So I came up with a pasta dish that utilized the fennel sauasage and the vanilla bean oil. The floral vanilla essence perfectly complements the sweet, herbal fennel in the sausage. The pistachios give a little extra texture and adds another layer of flavor to the dish. 
  1. Cook pasta to al dente
  2. Form sausage into a patty shape and grill
  3. Drain pasta and add butter, extra virgin olive oil and S&P to pasta pan
  4. Toss hot pasta in mixture and place servings in bowl
  5. Thinly slice sausage patty and place slices atop pasta
  6. Shave cheese over pasta and sausage
  7. Mix sugar and pisachios and place on top of sausage for garnish and texture