Creamy fennel and courgette pasta dish

This dish is great to eat in the run up to Christmas as it’s quick, easy, tasty and contains little heavy protein (after all, Advent, like Lent is associated with dietary restraint).  But, it is also delightful contrast after Christmas when you are jaded from eating heavy meals and need to divert your palate after feasting on the intense flavours, spices and winter herbs of the festive season.
 
I’ve had a heavy cold in the last few weeks and have approached cooking with deep reluctance. Low on a lot of kitchen staples, I’ve been driven to invention, combining ingredients to make something to please my peaky palate and soothe my senses!  With a yen to eat something light, flavourful and quick to prepare I searched in the fridge and found a carton of cream, a fennel bulb, some courgettes, and then spotted a bowl of lemons on the table.  (As I wrote in my April recipe -Mushrooms, wild garlic and cream on toast - cream is a most useful ingredient to have in your fridge as it makes a great base for a quick pasta sauce). When I discovered I was out of parmesan cheese, I added an egg and a generous sprinkle of smoked Achill Sea salt to finish the dish.
 
INGREDIENTS
Serves 3-4 as lunch or a light supper– depending on levels of hunger of course!

• 250 grams of short pasta shapes – spirali or fusilli are best
• A large pot-full of boiling water and 2 tsps of coarse salt for cooking pasta
• 250ml of cream
• 1 knob of butter
• 2 medium courgettes cut in 3 and sliced lengthwise thinly (width of a 1Euro coin)
• 1 medium fennel bulb, halved lengthwise, and sliced thinly (see above)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed, or very finely chopped
• Grated peel of 1 large unwaxed lemon,
• 1 egg beaten with a tablespoon of pasta water
• Scant teaspoon of fennel seeds
• Black pepper and Achill sea-salt to flavour

 
METHOD

1. Put a large pot of water to boil for the pasta,
2. Prepare the fennel, courgettes, garlic and lemon, and
3. Heat a heavy wide-bottomed pan and sprinkle the fennel seeds onto it.
4. As soon as the fennel seeds begin to emit a scent add a knob of butter, the crushed garlic and lower the heat under the pan. (If the fennel seeds burn, dump them, lower the heat and use a fresh spoonful of seeds.
5. At this stage the pot of water should have come to the boil, so add 2 teaspoons of coarse cooking salt and the pasta and cook according to time indicated on packet.
6. Pour the cream into the pan with garlic and fennel seeds and allow it to boil cook, absorbing flavours for 3-4 minutes
7. Add the grated lemon rind, and the sliced fennel, stir in and continue to allow cream sauce to bubble gently,
8. NB; 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked add the sliced courgettes and stir.
9. Then, take a tablespoon of pasta water and add to the beaten egg.
10. NOTE: Never fear! The boiling water and the boiling cream will cook the courgette and fennel slices sufficiently to keep their flavour and shape in this short time.
11. Strain the pasta and courgettes and stir into the cream sauce with the beaten egg (the heat of the sauce and pasta will cook the egg and thicken the sauce).
12. Add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and a Achill smoked sea salt and
13. Toss the pasta in the sauce, taking care to handle the courgette slices carefully.
14. SERVE in warmed deep dishes and enjoy.

 
Additions or variations

• Instead of courgettes you could use fresh spinach and melt it gently until just limp in a covered pot.
• You could add a couple of tablespoons of toasted pine nuts to the finished dish – this would add a nutty sweet flavour to the pasta
• Instead of the smoked sea salt you could use a generous sprinkle of finely grated Parmigiano or Grana Padano cheese – this will make the dish stickier and deepen its flavour.

 
Katie Verling
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