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1
Remove the sausage from its casing and break the meat up a bit with your fingers.
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2
Trim the fennel bulb. Slice the bulb in half lengthwise, then slice each half in 1/4-inch thick lengthwise slices. You will have about 3 cups of 2-inch long matchsticks of fennel.
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3
Pour the olive oil into the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage meat and cook, stirring and breaking it up until it is sizzling and beginning to brown, about 1-2 minutes.
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4
Push the sausage a aside and drop the onion slices into a clear part of the pan; saute, stirring, till another 2 minutes will wilted.
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5
Clear another space in the pan. Drop in the fennel; let it heat up and wilt for 1 minute or more, then stir it with the sausage and onions.
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6
Sprinkle on 1/4 teaspoon salt; drop the peperoncino in a hot spot and toast the flakes for 1/2 minute, then stir them in.
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7
Clear a hot spot in the center of the pan, put in the tomato paste, and cook, stirring for a minute or more, until caramelized.
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8
Add 3 cups of boiling pasta water from the pot into the skillet, stir and bring the liquid to a boil. Adjust the heat to simmer. Cook ziti till right before al dente.
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9
Continue to simmer the sauce until the flavors have developed and the fennel is soft but not mushy, 6 minutes or more. The sauce should not get too thick: stir in another cup or two of boiling pasta water if it reduces rapidly. Drop ziti into the sauce pan.
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10
Start tossing pasta and sauce together; ladle in more water if the sauce seems too thick.
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11
Continue to cook and toss the ziti in the skillet for 2 minutes, or until they are perfectly al dente and coated with sauce. If the pasta appears dry, ladle in more hot pasta water; if it is soupy, cook rapidly to thicken sauce.
