This recipe celebrates all that fennel has to offer in a weeknight pasta that comes together in less than an hour. Thinly sliced fennel is slowly cooked down with onion and garlic, yielding a caramelized, jammy mixture. Anchovies and Parmesan bring savory balance, while lemon zest and juice contribute brightness. Garnishing with the fronds lends fresh fennel flavor to every bite.
There are plenty of ways to customize this dish to your own palate. Don’t like anchovies? No worries—skip them. Want to take it to a meaty place? Cook Italian sausage in the skillet, set it aside, and cook the fennel in the sausage fat. Prefer a little more sweetness? Deglaze the skillet with white wine. And for even more fennel flavor, cook the stalks along with the pasta; just pluck them out before draining.
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What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
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4-Cup Measuring Cup
$10 At Amazon
Microplane
$18 At Amazon
Slotted Spoon
$11 At Amazon
Large Pot
$55 $48 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
55 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
3
¼
1
1
1
4
3
½
12
1
2
1
2
Preparation
Step 1
Cut stalks from 3 large fennel bulbs with fronds and cut fronds from stalks; discard stalks. Coarsely chop fronds and set aside. Remove tough out layer from bulbs and discard. Halve bulbs lengthwise (through root ends) and remove cores; discard. Thinly slice bulbs crosswise.
Step 2
Heat ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Add fennel bulbs, 1 medium onion, thinly sliced, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1 tsp. sugar; stir to combine. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent and fennel is beginning to brown around the edges, 8–10 minutes. Uncover and add 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 3 oil-packed anchovy filets, and ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as needed to avoid scorching (stir in a splash of water if scorching does occur), until fennel and onion are deep golden brown and very soft and jammy, 15–20 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, cook 12 oz. gemelli, fusilli, or other medium pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente, about 1 minute less than package directions.
Step 4
Using a slotted spoon, transfer pasta to pot with sauce. Add 1 oz. Parmesan, finely grated (about ½ cup), 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, and 2 cups pasta cooking liquid. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until sauce clings to pasta, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup reserved fennel fronds, 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest, and 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
Step 5
Divide pasta among shallow bowls and top with more reserved fennel fronds.
Leave a Review
Reviews (7)
Back to TopWow! Packed with flavor. I was worried about the Fennel fronds, lemon zest, and lemon juice stirred it at the end. Turns out that there was no reason to worry. It has a lot of Fennel and lemon flavor, which went well with the caramelized Fennel and onion.
OlyTracy
Olympia, WA
11/12/2023
I made this exactly as instructed and it was so flavorful and balanced. It sort of surprised me how much I loved it! You could definitely play around with it as suggested (sausage, wilted greens for a bit more color).
Meredith
Tennessee
11/16/2023
I just made this for my mum and I (we will have the leftovers tomorrow), and i have to say wow! I did have to make a couple of changes, I can't eat garlic and my mum is vegetarian, but I will definitely be making it again. Thank you.
Anonymous
UK
11/20/2023
I think this recipe was slightly more difficult than many others. Now that I made the normal recipe, although I added sliced Shiitakes, I’m looking forward to trying another version with sausage. It was delicious.
Jeff
Farmington Hills Mi
12/2/2023
I doubted this recipe at first. Not because of the ingredients, but the method seemed a bit backwards—I normally caramelize onions or fennel by starting with a hard sear, deglazing, and then simmering low & slow. I'm glad I trusted the recipe for once, because it delivered a soft, silky, and deeply flavorful sauce with much less effort! For 4 servings, we only used 2 large fennel bulbs and half an onion, but increased to 12 anchovies (highly recommended). Only other tip is to add pasta water slowly, 2 cups is too much IMO. This will be on our weeknight rotation for sure!
lasagnaqueen
Portland, Oregon
1/19/2024
It was worth the time and chopping. Delicious! I would make it again for company. I would do all the chopping the day before and everything else before the guests get there. It does have that umami flavor. I disagree that it is a weeknight put together recipe for family however. Too many pots and dishes to do afterward.
Elizabeth
Memphis, Tn
3/4/2024