Friday, August 20, 2010

Hand-Rolled Fennel Pollen Pici in Fennel-Tomato Sauce


Inspired by this amazing blog post, and Hank's recipes, Erik and I went foraging for fennel pollen last week. After about a half hour of gently shaking fennel flowers into a tupperware container, we had about a tablespoon of pollen and at least as many bugs. Newly convinced that the price of imported, dried pollen was worth it, we gave up and bought a jar. Making the hand-rolled pasta (which has the pollen in it) was surprisingly easy and fun- I think it would be a great meal to make with kids if you have them.

3 comments:

jennwhisper said...

This seriously was the best thing I've eaten in a long time!

Hunter Angler Gardener Cook said...

Nice job! Looks just like mine. So glad you liked the recipe. Next time on the fennel pollen: Pick as many bugs as you can out of the pollen, then microwave it for a few seconds. It will kill all the no-see-ums, and your pollen will smell fantastic! Of course, you then have to be OK with eating the stray, dead no-see-um, but hey, it's all for a good cause...

h.

deerseason87 said...

Thank you! The pollen we harvested was about 50% bugs- mostly aphids and gnats, I think- and we were just not up to the task of picking them all out, but it only makes us admire your dedication more!