A first course you won’t expect: the Pasta with Fennel Cream, pistachio crumbles, bottarga, and lemon is super fragrant and delicious! The creamy dressing for a dish of linguine or spaghetti perfect from autumn to spring, which is the fennel season. Fennel is always good, and today I’ll show you how to use it to dress pasta in a tasty and quick way!
Nothing goes to waste with fennel, we can actually save the fronds to decorate the pasta dish we are about to prepare. With the stalks and the outer layer of the fennel, we can prepare a vegetable broth to use for a velouté or a soup.
I chose to serve a simple, quick first course today that doesn’t require complicated preparations or long cooking times. We will actually prepare this linguine dish, or spaghetti if you prefer, in less than 50 minutes. The recipe below is designed for 2 people. If you have more family members or guests to serve, you can double or triple the indicated quantities.
I read this recipe in a cooking magazine that covers topics like seasonality of products, waste, and economical raw materials to create easy and good dishes perfect for the whole family. So Monday morning, I went into the kitchen, turned on the camera, put on my apron, and I also made for you the step-by-step video recipe to help you throughout the preparation of the pasta with fennel cream, bottarga, pistachios, and lemon.
If this recipe has intrigued you, if you are a fan of first courses different from the usual, and especially if you like fennel, you can also try other recipes I have prepared over the years: fragrant and delicious spring salads or easy-to-make baked sides. My favorite recipe remains the fennel salad with apples and walnuts, I recommend you try it as soon as possible.
I remind you that I await you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day, the perfect way to start the day all together!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very affordable
- Preparation time: 45 Minutes
- Portions: 2People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Fall, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 453.99 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 79.02 (g) of which sugars 6.32 (g)
- Proteins 18.42 (g)
- Fat 8.02 (g) of which saturated 1.05 (g)of which unsaturated 6.11 (g)
- Fibers 7.02 (g)
- Sodium 224.72 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 8 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for 2 servings of Pasta with Fennel Cream, Pistachios, and Bottarga
- 7 oz linguine (rough)
- 2 fennel bulbs (medium-small)
- 0.35 oz bottarga (in my case, tuna)
- 0.7 oz pistachio crumbles
- to taste lemon zest
- 1 onion (white or half shallot)
- Half carrot
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
Tools to Prepare the Fennel Cream with Lemon and Bottarga
- 1 Pan
- 1 Pot
- 1 Wooden Spoon
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Stovetop
- 1 Food Processor
- 1 Colander
Steps for the Recipe Pasta with Fennel Cream, Pistachio Crumbles, and Bottarga
Wash and cut the fennel by placing it on a wooden cutting board. We will slice it thinly, removing the outer layer and stalks. If you like, you can save these scraps to make a vegetable broth to use in other recipes, minimizing waste. Also set aside the fronds, which we’ll use to decorate the linguine plate.
Clean and finely chop the onion or shallot, depending on what you prefer or have in your pantry. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion. Peel and julienne the carrot half and add it to the pan with the onion. Place a pot with plenty of water on the stovetop and add salt.
Next, we will add the thinly sliced fennel along with a ladle of the pasta cooking water. Then bring to a boil to cook the pasta. Follow the cooking time indicated on the package minus one minute, which we’ll use to sauté the pasta in the pan with the fennel cream we’re about to prepare.
Transfer the cooked fennel into the bowl of a food processor or blender, adding a pinch of salt, pepper, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Blend until you get a smooth and fluid cream that we will pour into the pan we used for cooking the fennel. If necessary, add a ladle of cooking water.
Sprinkle with bottarga, add a grated lemon zest, and stir for a couple of minutes. Then drain the pasta, in my case rough bronze-drawn linguine, and add them to the pan with a ladle of cooking water. Toss the pasta and then plate.
Decorate the plates with the fennel fronds and sprinkle with pistachio crumbles. If you like, you can add some more black pepper and some tuna bottarga. Enjoy your meal, and I remind you that I await you every morning in the group and on the page with the recipe of the day!
We have just prepared a first course you won’t expect with fennel cream, bottarga, and pistachios, an easy lactose-free pasta dish. Perfect for two people but can easily be prepared for more people in less than 50 minutes.
Did you know fennel was common a thousand years ago? Yes, indeed, in an area near Athens, there are already the first mentions of this vegetable. Perfect as a snack, it is included in various diets due to the fiber content in fennel. It is a protagonist in winter salads and especially in post-feast excess, making it an ancient ally of the kitchen for countless preparations.
The most common one, which we find in the produce section of the supermarket, is the sweet fennel that is cultivated. It is harvested during the cold months, and so we can enjoy it from fall to spring.
Tips and Variations of the Recipe:
You can change the type of pasta, but I suggest a long pasta format that, in my opinion, better embraces the fennel cream dressing.
You can also change the bottarga, I chose powdered tuna bottarga which I always have in my pantry.
Cook and blend the fennel well together with the chopped onion and carrot pieces.
