The wild fennel is the king of gastronomic preparations, especially in the Marche region. Dishes based on fennel, known as "in porchetta", are suitable for first and second courses, either from the farmyard or the sea.
A recipe that makes the most of this wild herb comes from the slopes of Monte Catria, in the hinterland of the province of Pesaro and Urbino. In this area, there is a restaurant that has "married the territory", Le Fontane. It offers spaghetti with wild fennel according to an ancient recipe, as the result of a consolidation coming from far afield.
This recipe was brought to the area by Franco Naspini, chef and scholar of wild herbs, who, wandering around Italy, took inspiration from some of the customs of local popular cuisine and brought them back to his territory. It was during a trip to Friuli that Naspini adopted the custom of flaming sauces and sauces with grappa, to give more depth and structure to poor cuisine condiments based on simple ingredients. A mix between regional cuisines that today lives again in the recipe of spaghetti with wild fennel proposed in Cagli (PU). Chef Valerio Ferri, who grew up at Lucio Pompili’s court, has been running the restaurant Le Fontane for fourteen years and at his side is Giuseppe Formica, a long-time chef with a lot of experience in the kitchens of well-known restaurants between the Marche and Umbria.
The recipe for spaghetti with wild fennel
Ingredients for 4 servings
8 oz spaghetti pasta
1 stick butter
half onion
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp of dry white grappa
black peppercorns
fossa cheese (or mature pecorino cheese)
a nice tuft of freshly picked wild fennel
Method
Fry the chopped onion in extra-virgin olive oil, then add a few peppercorns and the butter.
Let it "sweat" over moderate heat until it has melted.
Then, add the finely chopped wild fennel beards; wet with the white grappa and slightly lean the pan towards the fire to let it burn.
When the alcohol has evaporated, the condiment will be ready.
Drain the pasta, sauté the spaghetti with some of their cooking water in the chopped fragrant mixture and sprinkle with a generous grating of cheese.
Le Fontane: restaurant in Cagli (PU)
To reach Le Fontane from the coast you have to drive inland along panoramic roads that cut through the cultivated fields of the Marche countryside. The landscapes become increasingly wooded near the Maiano Plain at the gates of the village of Cagli, where the restaurant is located. The cuisine is purely seasonal and is based on local ingredients. Valerio Ferri, in fact, is also involved inbreeding. In the surrounding countryside, he has created a sort of network, entrusting small farmers of the nearby Monte Paganuccio with the piglets of a particularly prized and rustic native breed: the "Cinturello". Truffle, mushrooms, wild herbs, including vitalba (which abounds in the area), complete the seasons on the menu. Here the polenta is made in maltagliati: "Cresc Tatèt", which are also offered in an original version with a stewed snail sauce, obviously with wild fennel.