Common or Bronze Fennel Puree with Pasta

Name: Common or Bronze Fennel Puree with Pasta
Yield: Serves 4 as a main course
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: Salt and pepper; 1 pound imported Italian pasta of just about any type; About ½ cup full-flavored olive oil; About 2 tablespoons dry vermouth or white wine; 1 pound common or bronze fennel stalks; 2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved; About ½ teaspoon minced garlic; Salt and pepper; About 2 tablespoons dry vermouth or white wine

Preparation info

Serves
4
as a main course

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini

By Elizabeth Schneider

Published 2001

About

Much more than a seasoning pesto, this puree is both green vegetable and deep-flavored sauce for lovers of pastis, anise, licorice, and the like. Boiling tames the ferocious flavor, rendering it mellow and buttery—much like creamy, mild Pernod. For variation, garnish with halved cherry tomatoes.

Ingredients

1 pound common or bronze fennel stalks
2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
About ½

Europe
Italy
Main course
Mediterranean
Vegan

Method

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. If bases of fennel stalks are tough or dried, trim off and discard. Separate feathery fronds from stalks and reserve. Slice stalks, then drop into the boiling water with plentry of salt. Boil until tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, rough-cut fennel fronds (to make about 6 tightly packed cups). When stalks are tender, add