Fennel
How I love fennel. If you take out fennel from Italian Sausage, it isn't Italian anymore. It smells like Italy to me. Spicy, liquorice, clean crunchy loveliness. You can buy the whole seeds in the spice isle at just about any grocery store these days.
I use it with pork and chicken. It is common in Indian cooking as well as Italian. But I like it best in a red sauce, with or without meat. I sometimes leave the seeds whole or I grind them in my old coffee grinder dedicated to spices for several reasons.
I grind the seeds when my kids are around because they don't like whole seeds in their sauce. I also grind it when cooking Indian food or when I want the intensity of the ground spice to be let loose. I also sometimes leave the seeds whole and press them into a pork roast or chop before cooking. When I use the seeds in a sauce or stew I rub them between my hands as I let them go into the pot. That it a bit of meditation all by itself.
Here's the first original recipe of mine that ever got any positive comments using fennel seeds:
Marinara Sauce with Fennel
Serves 4 to 6 (or 3 if any of the guests are one of my nephews)
3 large cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
red pepper flakes to taste
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and more for drizzling later
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes if you can get them, if not roma or chopped tomatoes will do
8 small or 6 medium fresh basil leaves cut in a chifonnade. (I guess it might be time for some video lessons soon.)
Salt to taste
3/4 pound of linguine
1.Take a large heavy bottomed frying pan, stainless steel preferably. Heat on medium heat.
2.Add olive oil and heat for a minute or two until you see swirls in the oil. Lower the heat a bit. Add garlic. (Don't let garlic get brown. If you do it will be bitter and a little horrible. Throw it away and start again if you do.)
3.Immediately take the fennel seeds and crush them a bit by rubbing them in your palms, hands together, releasing the seeds slowly over the garlic in the pan. Inhale and thank God you are a Lacagnina, an Italian or just lucky enough to be on this earth to smell what's happening in that pan!
4. Add the tomato paste and red peppr flakes, stirring gently and let simmer over low heat for a few minutes until the oil starts to separate from the paste and turns a lovely shade of orange/red.
5. Crush the tomatoes with your hands if you have whole canned tomatoes or add the crushed tomatoes and simmer over medium low heat for 30 to 40 minutes stirring often. Also, stand over this for a moment or two and just inhale. And thank God you are... well you know the drill.
6. While the sauce is cooking, put a big pot of water on for the pasta. Set the table with large shallow bowls (that is the only kind of dish real Italians use for eating pasta), forks AND large spoons for twirling, bread and butter. Also, have a few extra leaves of basil on the table for tearing up and putting on individual plates for those who want an extra jolt. Some people like a little pecorino romano with this, but I prefer it with just a little extra virgin drizzled over the top.
7. After cooking the pasta according to the directions on the box, drain it carefully in colandar and place it in a large bowl. Add a few ladles of sauce to the pasta with a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled over and toss gently.
8. Put extra sauce in a serving bowl and enjoy. I love an Italian of Spanish dry red like Sangiovese, Chianti, Primitive di Puglia or Tempranillo with this sauce.
I use it with pork and chicken. It is common in Indian cooking as well as Italian. But I like it best in a red sauce, with or without meat. I sometimes leave the seeds whole or I grind them in my old coffee grinder dedicated to spices for several reasons.
I grind the seeds when my kids are around because they don't like whole seeds in their sauce. I also grind it when cooking Indian food or when I want the intensity of the ground spice to be let loose. I also sometimes leave the seeds whole and press them into a pork roast or chop before cooking. When I use the seeds in a sauce or stew I rub them between my hands as I let them go into the pot. That it a bit of meditation all by itself.
Here's the first original recipe of mine that ever got any positive comments using fennel seeds:
Marinara Sauce with Fennel
Serves 4 to 6 (or 3 if any of the guests are one of my nephews)
3 large cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
red pepper flakes to taste
3 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and more for drizzling later
2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
1 large can of San Marzano tomatoes if you can get them, if not roma or chopped tomatoes will do
8 small or 6 medium fresh basil leaves cut in a chifonnade. (I guess it might be time for some video lessons soon.)
Salt to taste
3/4 pound of linguine
1.Take a large heavy bottomed frying pan, stainless steel preferably. Heat on medium heat.
2.Add olive oil and heat for a minute or two until you see swirls in the oil. Lower the heat a bit. Add garlic. (Don't let garlic get brown. If you do it will be bitter and a little horrible. Throw it away and start again if you do.)
3.Immediately take the fennel seeds and crush them a bit by rubbing them in your palms, hands together, releasing the seeds slowly over the garlic in the pan. Inhale and thank God you are a Lacagnina, an Italian or just lucky enough to be on this earth to smell what's happening in that pan!
4. Add the tomato paste and red peppr flakes, stirring gently and let simmer over low heat for a few minutes until the oil starts to separate from the paste and turns a lovely shade of orange/red.
5. Crush the tomatoes with your hands if you have whole canned tomatoes or add the crushed tomatoes and simmer over medium low heat for 30 to 40 minutes stirring often. Also, stand over this for a moment or two and just inhale. And thank God you are... well you know the drill.
6. While the sauce is cooking, put a big pot of water on for the pasta. Set the table with large shallow bowls (that is the only kind of dish real Italians use for eating pasta), forks AND large spoons for twirling, bread and butter. Also, have a few extra leaves of basil on the table for tearing up and putting on individual plates for those who want an extra jolt. Some people like a little pecorino romano with this, but I prefer it with just a little extra virgin drizzled over the top.
7. After cooking the pasta according to the directions on the box, drain it carefully in colandar and place it in a large bowl. Add a few ladles of sauce to the pasta with a little extra virgin olive oil drizzled over and toss gently.
8. Put extra sauce in a serving bowl and enjoy. I love an Italian of Spanish dry red like Sangiovese, Chianti, Primitive di Puglia or Tempranillo with this sauce.
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