Author Notes
Fennel. Be still my heart. Perhaps the first time I tasted it was when I tried a quick, simple recipe from Cooking Light magazine: ground pork, fennel, onion, fresh Roma tomatoes, garlic, fennel seed, oregano, cayenne pepper and a couple other ingredients. Nice, but not fabulous. I made it once as written and over the years, fine-tuned it into my go-to comfort pasta sauce. This is my latest iteration, inspired by a lovely veal ragout at a local restaurant. But the possibilities are endless: add a shallot or red pepper, leave out the carrot, celery or cream, tone down the cayenne if it's not your thing, replace the wine with chicken broth. This is the first recipe I've posted and I'd love to hear your thoughts! —Maddiescook
Ingredients
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1
large bulb fennel (or two small), chopped (reserve fronds)
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1
medium onion, chopped
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1
carrot, small dice
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1
celery stalk, small dice
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4
cloves garlic, minced
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1 pound
ground pork
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4 teaspoons
sugar
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2 teaspoons
oregano
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2 tablespoons
fennel seeds
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1 teaspoon
crushed red pepper flakes
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1/2 teaspoon
cayenne pepper
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1/2 teaspoon
fresh ground pepper
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1 teaspoon
salt (or to taste)
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1
28 oz can Roma tomatoes
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3 tablespoons
tomato paste
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3/4 cup
good red wine
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1/4 cup
cream
Directions
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Heat large saute pan over medium high heat (you can add a little olive oil or cooking spray if you want). Add fennel, onion, garlic, carrot and celery. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 10 minutes.
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Add pork and next seven ingredients (sugar through salt) and cook until pork is no longer pink, stirring well, about 7 to 10 minutes.
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Add tomatoes, squishing with fingers (or breaking up with a wooden spoon. Personally, I like to squish). Stir in tomato paste and wine.
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Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
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Stir in cream (or half & half). Simmer until heated through.
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Serve over penne. Top with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and garnish with fennel fronds, if desired.
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