Caramelized Fennel with Ricotta and Pasta
Cascading Kitchen Notes
I'm betting that you haven't found a way to cook it to your liking....until today! So go ahead, strap on your explorer's hat and...chop, chop. After this you'll be bartering up to increase your stores of fennel root.
Even if you're not trying to cut back on pasta, steamed, cubed potatoes are perfect with this dish. We prepare the potatoes that same way when making our potato salad.

Caramelized Fennel with Ricotta and Pasta
Ingredients:
- One fennel bulb
- 1/3 cube of butter
- water
- 6C summer squash, julienned
- Zest from 1 large lemon
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
- 1 lb cooked whole wheat linguine
- 3 Cups homemade ricotta
- juice from the now disrobed lemon
Directions:
- Remove the greens from the fennel bulb and set aside for later.
- Slice the bulb in half, remove the core and slice into thin slivers
- Saute in the butter....slowly.
- Once it has turned golden, add 1/3 to 1/2 cup of water and reduce.
- Add another 1/2 C of water and reduce again to yield a yummy, golden syrup.
Add:
- the julienned summer squash, lemon zest, minced garlic, salt, pepper
No matter the size of the zucchini (summer squash) always remove the seeds. If you don’t, as the veggies caramelize, the texture of the seed remains, which I find objectionable.
Saute another five minutes and toss into the the cooked linguine.
Add:
- homemade ricotta (The homemade ricotta makes all the difference and it's a fun family project. See how easy it is to make.)
Finally add:
- Lemon juice and adjust salt to taste
If you want to bump up that fennel flavor even more, add 3 T minced fennel greens to the pasta dish for extra flavor and color or just serve it in a small bowl on the table for each to add according to taste.
