Recipe & photography by Florence Blair.
Serves 4
Ingredients
80g diced pancetta
3 tbsp olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, finely chopped (fronds reserved if possible)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
30g parmesan
1 tsp fennel seeds
350g rigatoni
1 unwaxed lemon
Method
Put the pancetta and 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over a low heat. Cook very gently for 10-12 minutes, stirring every so often. Cooking the pancetta slowly over a low heat allows the fat to fully render out, giving you crispy pancetta for topping and fat to use for cooking the fennel.
As the pancetta cooks, finely chop the fennel, reserving any fronds attached to the bulb for serving. Thinly slice the garlic and finely grate the parmesan.
Once the pancetta is crisp, scoop out of the pot into a bowl and set aside, leaving the rendered fat behind. Add the chopped fennel, garlic and fennel seeds to the pot, along with a good pinch of salt and lots of coarsely ground black pepper. Cover and cook over a medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Then add 100ml water, scrape up any caramelised sticky bits from the bottom of the pot,
cover again and cook for a further 20 minutes, checking in to stir once or twice, until very soft - almost melted.
When the fennel is nearly ready, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and cook the rigatoni until just shy of al dente. Use a slotted spoon or spider to transfer the pasta over the pot, along with any splashes of pasta water that piggy back with it. Toss well, adding the remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and the parmesan little by little, along with extra splashes of pasta to loosen, until it creates a glossy sauce that coats the pasta. Grate in the lemon zest and squeeze in the juice.
Taste for seasoning, spoon into bowls and top with the crispy pancetta, fennel fronds, and plenty of black pepper.
