With Christmas Eve approaching this dish is ever so appropriate. Whether you take part in the feast of seven fishes or only serve two fish, this dish will steal the show. Even your pickiest guests won't be able to say no to this one. The tender, sweet shrimp are highlighted by the licorice notes of the fennel and the juicy tomatoes pull it all together.
Ingredients:
2 pounds of cleaned Shrimp
1 pound of Penne pasta
4 cloves of garlic
1 bulb of fennel plus 4 tbsp. of the fronds
8 large ripe tomatoes
4 tablespoon white wine
1 cup tomato juice (unflavored, no salt)
4 tbsp. chopped basil
4 tablespoons of Pecorino Romano
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Begin by chopping the fennel into bite size pieces and dice the tomatoes. Save the fennel fronds (fuzzy, herb on top of the fennel bulb). Crush the cloves of garlic and chop the basil and the fronds.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the fennel and sauté until the fennel becomes soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and sauté for one minute then add the diced tomatoes. Put the heat on medium-low and let the tomatoes release their juices (this will only take 5 minutes).
When the tomatoes and olive oil have created a bit of a sauce add the white wine and shrimp. Cook them until they are pink - orange. Once shrimp are cooked put the heat on low and add the tomato juice and stir. At this point you only want to let the sauce get warm, otherwise the shrimp will over cook.
Shut the heat heat off on the sauce and bring a pot of well-salted water to boil. Cook penne until al dente (Reserve some pasta water).
Add the pecorino romano, basil and fronds and combine well. Add the pasta and some pasta water if you want a more liquid like sauce.
Enjoy with some grilled Italian bread,
Alexandra =)
*Note - pictures are from when I made this for two people, I doubled the recipe for the blog to serve 4*
