CookEat Recipe
Fennel and Tomato Sauce with Saffron
Simmered fennel is puréed with raw tomato and a warm saffron-thread infusion. A little paprika and chopped parsley season the sauce, with the remaining water stirred in only if a looser texture is wanted.
Method
Steps
Step 1
Wash the fresh produce and use clean utensils. Unless specified below, vegetable weights refer to the prepared edible parts. Reserve 250 ml of the listed water for blending; the remaining 1000 ml is for the soaking and cooking steps below.
Step 2
Remove the fennel stalks, tough outer layer and hard core; slice the bulb very thinly. Core the tomatoes and chop roughly. Use whole saffron threads measured loosely without packing, not ground saffron. Wash, dry and finely chop fresh parsley leaves; discard coarse stems. The generic herbs here are fresh parsley leaves. Use ground paprika; measure before adding.
Step 3
Bring 1000 ml of the water to a boil. Add the thinly sliced fennel and simmer for 8–12 minutes until easily pierced, then drain.
Step 4
Lightly crush the measured saffron threads. Steep them in 20 ml of the reserved blending water, heated until hot, for 10 minutes. Keep the threads and their infusion.
Step 5
Spread the cooked components in a shallow dish and let them cool for about 10 minutes until no longer hot before mixing with the fresh ingredients. Prepare the remaining ingredients while the cooked components cool.
Step 6
Combine the prepared fennel, tomato, paprika, red wine vinegar, fresh parsley leaves, and the saffron infusion and threads in a blender with all the olive oil. Blend until evenly combined, stopping to scrape down the bowl.
Step 7
If the sauce is too thick, stir in the reserved blending water 5 ml at a time, up to 230 ml remaining in total. Stop at the consistency wanted for serving; discard any unused water.
Step 8
Transfer to a clean serving container and rest for 10 minutes. Serve promptly, or refrigerate in a shallow covered container at 4°C or below and use within 2 days. Keep total time at room temperature under 2 hours; stir before serving.
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