Fennel Pasta with Pine Nuts and Cheese

Ingredients

• 500 g pasta (e.g., casarecce or gemelli)
• Salt
• 1 bulb fennel
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tomatoes
• 120 ml dry white wine
• Pepper (freshly ground)
• 2 slices white bread
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
• 50 g grated cheese (e.g., Bergkäse)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente.

2. 2.

   Wash, trim, and slice the fennel into thin strips; set aside some fronds for garnish. Peel and finely chop the garlic. In a hot pan, sauté the garlic and fennel in 1 tbsp oil for 1-2 minutes until translucent. Add the tomatoes (blanch, peel, quarter, seed, dice), deglaze with wine, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. 3.

   Remove the crusts from the bread and tear into pieces. In another pan, lightly toast the pine nuts in the remaining oil until golden brown. Fold in the parsley.

4. 4.

   Drain the pasta and toss it with some reserved cooking water if needed, then combine with the fennel mixture. Transfer to a bowl, top with the toasted bread mixture and grated cheese, and garnish with fennel fronds before serving.