Pappardelle with Crispy Fennel + Fresh Herbs

Every week, Caroline Wright creates simple, civilized recipes for Food52 that feed four -- for under $20, in under 20 minutes.

Today: Celebrate pappardelle and all of its charms.

Pappardelle is the perfect cut of pasta for a quick dinner on a cool night -- it is remarkably hearty, but it cooks in a flash. Papardelle, too, always feels like a bit of a celebration, perhaps because it’s a pasta I can’t say no to when out at almost any tiny Italian restaurant. To celebrate papardelle and all of its charms, I kept this preparation very fresh and simple: a handful of herbs, some fennel crisped in olive oil and garlic, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  

Pappardelle with Crispy Fennel + Fresh Herbs  

1/4 cup olive oil?
1 bay leaf?
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
2 garlic cloves, sliced
?2 medium fennel bulbs, very thinly sliced (1 tablespoon chopped fronds reserved)
8 ounces dried egg papardelle
?2 tablespoons chopped parsley?
3 tablespoons chopped chives
?1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

As a freelance food writer and cook, I first wrote this style of recipe as a column on my blog, The Wright Recipes, as an excuse to cook good food for my friends in a quick and simple way. 

Twenty-Dollar, Twenty-Minute™ Meals grew into a cookbook that was published by Workman in May 2013. The recipes found here are original, made especially for Food52 to once again celebrate simple food with friends.

Photo by Caroline Wright