Pasta with Fresh Tomatoes and Sausages

This is one of my favorite easy dinners to make.  I buy stuffed pasta at Costco (this one is spinach and cheese filled ravioli) and use the Campari tomatoes I find there as well for the sauce.  The addition of the Italian sausages makes it nice and hearty (and makes Stuart happy).

1 package (about 1 pound) of stuffed pasta of your choice
1-1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes, chopped (I use Campari when possible)
2-3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 t. fennel seeds, crushed*
Handful of fresh basil, chiffonade (roll leaves up like a cigar and cut into strips)
3 links Italian sausages
Fresh grated parmesan

First, cook the sausages:  Put sausages in a skillet and cover with water.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 8 minutes.  Do not let the water boil or the casings will rupture.  Remove sausages and coat with olive oil.  Grill them for about another 8 minutes or until you have good grill marks on all sides.  You can also finish them in the oven if you don't want to grill.  This can be done well ahead of time.  Once they have cooled, cut the sausages into slices.

Cook the pasta in a large pot of well-salted water according to package instructions.

In a large skillet, heat about 2 T. of olive oil.  Add the tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes are broken down and saucy (see the picture below).  Add the garlic, fennel*, and sausages and cook another 2 minutes.  Season with salt and stir in basil.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the pasta from the pot directly into the tomato mixture.  Top each serving with fresh parmesan.

*I recently bought Italian sausages from Costco and realized later that fennel was not one of the ingredients, which is why I now add fennel to my sauce.  You can leave it out if your sausages have fennel, but it really does add a nice addition to the simple sauce.

Here is the sauce before the addition of the pasta: