sometimes a rolling pin is just a rolling pin
pasta con finocchio
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 2 small bulbs of fennel, diced
- olive oil
- a handful of raisins
- a generous pinch of saffron
- half a cup of dry white wine approximately
- granulated garlic
- white and black pepper
- salt
- a handful of chopped almonds or pine nuts or both, lightly toasted
saute onion in olive oil until translucent. add the fennel and soon afterwards the raisins. cook stirring frequently until halfway done. then crumble saffron into wine and pour mixture over vegetables.
cook until desired degree of doneness is obtained, stir in almonds or nuts and season with garlic, pepper and salt to taste (be generous with the pepper). serve with pasta.
this came out really nice, tasting sweet and saffrony. i should have added a little more pepper though. and it reminded me that is two months since i last made my beloved risotto milanese.
today i bought my very own rolling pin (beech wood). it's not as long as some of its italian brothers but it's longer than my mom's and most important of all it is mine. and after having obsessed over the impressive length and beautiful wood it is made of i discovered an olive wood ladle that i simply couldn't resist although i had not planned to spend nearly as much money as i did in the end.
