Bucatini With Anchovies And Fennel Recipes

Steps:

• Place anchovies and their oil in a small bowl, add the lemon juice and mix together to break up anchovies. Set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil in a 12- to 14-inch skillet, add bread crumbs and cook on medium, stirring, until they are toasted. Fold in parsley and tarragon, remove from skillet and set aside. Wipe out skillet and add remaining oil. Heat on medium-low, add fennel, onion and garlic and cook until they become soft and translucent and show a hint of color. Lightly season with salt and liberally with pepper. Stir in anchovy mixture and set aside. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
• Cook bucatini until not quite al dente. Remove 2 cups of the pasta water and continue cooking pasta until just done. Drain and add to the skillet with the fennel mixture along with about a cup of the pasta water. Scatter in the lemon zest. Heat on low. Use tongs to toss pasta thoroughly with the fennel mixture. There should be enough liquid to moisten the pasta without making it soupy, so add more pasta water if needed. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Don't be shy with the pepper. Divide the pasta among 4 to 6 warm plates, top each with some of the bread crumbs and serve with cheese on the side.

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as the label directs for al dente. Reserve 1 1/4 cups cooking water, then drain. Reserve the pot.
• Meanwhile, put the raisins in a small bowl and add hot tap water to just cover; set aside. Mix 2 teaspoons olive oil with the breadcrumbs and 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds; toast in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
• Wipe out the pasta pot and heat the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and fennel bulb and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is tender and golden, about 8 minutes. Add the pine nuts, turmeric and remaining 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and cook, stirring, until the oil is golden and the nuts and spices are toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the raisins and soaking water and 1/2 cup of the reserved cooking water; remove from the heat.
• Add the pasta, sardines and fennel fronds to the pot. Return to medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until coated, adding the remaining cooking water as needed to loosen. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls, drizzle with olive oil and top with the toasted breadcrumbs.

Steps:

• In a small skillet, toast bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons olive oil until golden. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of sugar. Set aside.
• Simmer the fennel fronds in a large pot of salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove and spread out on a platter to cool. Do not discard cooking water. When fronds are cool, chop finely with a large knife (or pulse in a food processor with a little of the cooking water).
• Put raisins and currants in a bowl and cover with the white wine and 1/2 cup hot fennel-cooking water. Add crumbled saffron and let ingredients steep together for 10 minutes.
• In a large skillet, stew the onions and diced fennel in 6 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add anchovies, ground fennel and coriander seeds, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in reserved fennel fronds. Add the raisin mixture and its liquid and bring to a simmer.
• Season the fresh sardine fillets with salt and pepper and lay them on top of the onion mixture. Put a lid on the pan and turn off the heat for about 5 minutes, so sardines cook through and are just done. Stir to distribute chunks of fish throughout mixture. (If using canned sardines, skip this step and simply stir them in.)
• Boil the bucatini in the fennel cooking water (add more water to the pot if necessary). Cook until noodles are on the firm side of al dente, then drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta to pan with onion-sardine mixture, sprinkle pasta lightly with salt and gently toss together, adding a little pasta water to keep everything well moistened. Taste and correct seasoning; it should be well seasoned.
• Transfer to a large platter or wide pasta bowl. Sprinkle with bread crumbs, pine nuts and parsley. Garnish with lemon wedges. Add a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Steps:

• Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
• Add the sliced fennel bulb and the bucatini and cook until the pasta is al dente, approximately 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place the 2 tblsps olive oil in a large skillet.
• Add the chopped fennel bulb and saute over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
• Add the garlic, half the wild fennel, the chopped anchovies and the red pepper flakes.
• Cook, stirring, for 6-8 minutes, or until the greens are tender.
• Drain the pasta, reserving a little of the cooking liquid.
• Chop the boiled fennel and add it to the sauce along with ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and the drained pasta.
• Drizzle with the Olive Oil with Anchovies and Chili Peppers.
• Add the remaining chopped fennel and toss well.
• Taste, adjust the seasonings to your liking, and serve immediately.

Steps:

• Whiz bread slices in a food processor to form bread crumbs. Heat oil in a frypan and add breadcrumbs, sea salt and pepper. Toss around over a medium heat for a few minutes until golden and crunchy. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil and cook spaghetti according to packet instructions until just al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. (Al dente as you know means 'firm to the bite' and believe me, proper Italian pasta really is a little firm, certainly not squishy...so if you don't normally, maybe try it a little firmer than you are used to. Not solid clearly, but definitely with a little nugget of resistance in the core of the spaghetti.) Heat oil in a large pot and add garlic, anchovies and fennel seeds. Cook for a couple of minutes until the garlic is fragrant but not browned and the anchovies are starting to break up. Add the pasta to the pot with a good grinding of black pepper, the reserved pasta water, half of the Parmesan, and half of the parsley or fennel tips. Serve with a good grinding of black pepper, the rest of the parsley or fennel tips and a sprinkling of breadcrumbs with Parmesan passed separately around the table. Serves 4-6 (6 for lunch, 4 for dinner with a nice big salad on the side).