Spaghetti with nduja, lemon and fennel
SERVES
2
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
5
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
10
MINUTES
CUISINE
COURSE
Main
Method
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, cut the cherry tomatoes into halves, lightly toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan and peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves. Add the spaghetti to the pan of boiling water and cook it for eight to ten minutes, until it still has just a little bite. While it is cooking you can prepare the sauce. Grate half of the parmesan and set aside. You will use the rest just before serving. I use a vegetable peeler to shave the rest of the parmesan into curls which taste and look great on top of the finished dish. You can do that just before serving it up.
Heat a heavy based frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil and when it is hot and shimmering, the chopped cherry tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the tomatoes for three to four minutes until they soften and begin to break down just a little. Add the sliced garlic and cook it for another minute or two. Lightly crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, and sir them in. Add the juice of the lemon and a good grind of black pepper. Pick about half of the basil leaves and set them aside. Chop the rest of the basil, including the stalks and stir the chopped herbs into the sauce. Cut up the nduja and add that to the pan. Stir it in, keeping the heat low, you just want to simmer the sauce so that the nduja cooks down.
By now your spaghetti should be almost cooked, so dip a mug into the pan and scoop out some of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
Add the cream cheese to the sauce and stir until it is well combined. Check your pasta now, it should be ready. Drain it and return it to the pan. Add a little splash of olive oil and toss the pasta to stop it getting sticky. Add the grated parmesan cheese to the sauce, stir it in and if it is getting as little too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to the pan, stirring it in until you get the correct consistency. Taste the sauce and now add more salt if needed. Toss the spaghetti in the sauce and serve it up on pasta bowls or plates, with the rest of the basil leaves and the parmesan shavings scattered on top.
Ingredients
300g cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
50g nduja
1 lemon
1 tsp fennel seeds
40g freshly grated Parmesan
2 tbsp cream cheese
A handful of fresh basil
160-200g dried spaghetti
Salt and ground black pepper
Method
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. While you are waiting for it to boil, cut the cherry tomatoes into halves, lightly toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan and peel and thinly slice the garlic cloves. Add the spaghetti to the pan of boiling water and cook it for eight to ten minutes, until it still has just a little bite. While it is cooking you can prepare the sauce. Grate half of the parmesan and set aside. You will use the rest just before serving. I use a vegetable peeler to shave the rest of the parmesan into curls which taste and look great on top of the finished dish. You can do that just before serving it up.
Heat a heavy based frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil and when it is hot and shimmering, the chopped cherry tomatoes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the tomatoes for three to four minutes until they soften and begin to break down just a little. Add the sliced garlic and cook it for another minute or two. Lightly crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, and sir them in. Add the juice of the lemon and a good grind of black pepper. Pick about half of the basil leaves and set them aside. Chop the rest of the basil, including the stalks and stir the chopped herbs into the sauce. Cut up the nduja and add that to the pan. Stir it in, keeping the heat low, you just want to simmer the sauce so that the nduja cooks down.
By now your spaghetti should be almost cooked, so dip a mug into the pan and scoop out some of the starchy pasta water and set it aside.
Add the cream cheese to the sauce and stir until it is well combined. Check your pasta now, it should be ready. Drain it and return it to the pan. Add a little splash of olive oil and toss the pasta to stop it getting sticky. Add the grated parmesan cheese to the sauce, stir it in and if it is getting as little too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water to the pan, stirring it in until you get the correct consistency. Taste the sauce and now add more salt if needed. Toss the spaghetti in the sauce and serve it up on pasta bowls or plates, with the rest of the basil leaves and the parmesan shavings scattered on top.
