Simple Fennel Pasta Food

PASTA WITH FENNEL AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Trim fennel bulbs, cut in half lengthwise, and remove tough cores. Thinly slice fennel bulb halves lengthwise. Peel onions, slice in half lengthwise, and thinly slice onions lengthwise.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir fennel and onions until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Pour in white wine, turn heat up to medium-high, and cook, stirring often, until the wine has nearly evaporated and fennel and onions begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain and keep warm. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.
• Stir tomatoes into the fennel mixture and cook until the tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Mix lemon juice and pine nuts into the vegetables.
• Stir linguine into the fennel mixture and mix in reserved pasta water. Cook pasta and vegetables over high heat, stirring until hot and thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Serve in a large serving bowl topped with Parmesan cheese.

FENNEL PASTA

Steps:

• Heat up a heavy bottomed pan on a medium-high heat. Trim fennel and cut it into 8 wedges lengthwise. Brush the wedges of fennel and unpeeled garlic cloves with a small amount of olive oil. Place on a hot pan and let fennel caramelise and garlic cloves brown for a few minutes. After fennel is nicely browned on one side, turn it over to the other side and let the other side caramelise and soften. Turn garlic over to the other side and let it brown on the other side too.
• Once fennel is soft, take it off the pan, season lightly with salt and pepper and set aside. Peel roasted garlic cloves and put them through a garlic press or chop them into a small dice.
• Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in the same pan. Add roast garlic and chopped tomatoes and let them simmer on low heat until they soften and thicken into a sauce. Mix in some tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Season with salt, pepper, chilli and saffron to taste. Add chopped capers and olives.
• Mix in cooked pasta. Serve topped with caramelised fennel (you may want to cut the wedges into smaller pieces so it's easier to eat), toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley.

FENNEL SPAGHETTI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and cook the fennel seeds until they pop. Sizzle the garlic for 1 min, then add the lemon zest and half the fennel slices. Cook for 10-12 mins or until the fennel has softened.
• Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta for 1 min less than pack instructions. Use tongs to transfer the pasta to the frying pan along with a good splash of pasta water. Increase the heat to high and toss well. Stir through the remaining fennel slices, the parsley and lemon juice, season generously, then tip straight into two bowls to serve. Top with the fennel fronds, extra olive oil and parmesan shavings, if you like.

PASTA WITH CREAMY FENNEL SAUCE

Steps:

• Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1 tablespoon; reserve, discarding the rest of the tops or saving for another use. Core and slice fennel bulbs. Peel and cube potato. Slice shallot; smash garlic cloves and peel., Place vegetables, milk and broth in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until tender, 25-30 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid; cool slightly. Stir in reserved cooking liquid, cream cheese, Parmesan, salt and pepper., Process in a blender or food processor until pureed. Return to Dutch oven. Stir in parsley and reserved fennel fronds; keep warm., Cook ravioli according to package directions. Drain. Toss with sauce. If desired, top with additional Parmesan.

GOOD FENNELS PASTA

Steps:

• Place a large pot of water on to boil for pasta. Salt water and add bucatini and cook to al dente.
• While water comes to boil and pasta cooks, make the sauce. Heat a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add sausage to the skillet and break up the sausage into small bits. Brown sausage all over then transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, the garlic, fennel, onions and peppers. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper. Cook, turning frequently, 7 to 8 minutes until tender but do not allow the fennel and onions to brown ¿ reduce heat a bit if they begin to. Add the wine or stock next and reduce 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and the sausage. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until pasta is done.
• Drain the pasta very well and add to the sauce. Sprinkle the pasta with 1/2 cup cheese, a couple of handfuls, then toss pasta with thick sauce to combine. Transfer pasta to a large shallow platter and cover with the pasta with basil leaves. Serve with extra cheese and pass crusty bread at the table to mop up the plates.

FENNEL & SEAFOOD LINGUINE

Steps:

• Mix any brown crabmeat with the crème fraîche and cayenne pepper, and set aside. Pull away any tough outer leaves from the fennel bulb (you can keep these to use for stock). Trim the base, and remove the stem (again, reserve these for making stock, if you like). Finely chop the fronds and set aside. Slice the bulb in half along the core, then lay the pieces, cut-side down, on a chopping board. Cut each half into thick slices, then rotate by 90 degrees and chop.
• Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan over a medium heat, add the fennel, shallot, chilli, garlic and a good pinch of sea salt and cook for 8-10 mins, or until the fennel and shallot are have softened. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes more until they start to break down. Tip in the vermouth or white wine, and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by about half, then remove from the heat.
• Meanwhile, cook the linguine in a large pan of boiling salted water, following pack instructions, until just al dente. Reheat the fennel sauce over a medium heat and transfer the pasta directly from its water to the sauce using tongs. Add a good ladleful of the pasta cooking water to loosen the mix, then spoon in the white crabmeat. Stir everything together well to agitate the mixture and emulsify the sauce. Add the crab and crème fraîche mixture, and stir for a few minutes until the sauce is thick and glossy. Stir in the chopped herbs and taste for seasoning - the sauce should be thick, silky and not too runny, so continue to cook until it's the right thickness, if needed. Season with a little lemon juice, then divide between warmed bowls.

CREAMY TAGLIATELLE WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Add the oil to a non-stick frying pan. Tip in the fennel and cook for 10 mins until soft and slightly golden, adding the fennel seeds and garlic for the final 3 mins of cooking.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta following pack instructions, reserving a few tbsp of the cooking water for the sauce.
• Stir the lemon zest, juice, mascarpone and most of the parsley into the fennel mixture. Heat through then toss in the cooked pasta and a few tbsp of the cooking water. Give everything a good stir and season. Scatter over the remaining parsley and serve.