Creamy Pasta with Chicken and Fennel

Ingredients

• 2 x shallots
• 100 g fennel
• 2 clove garlic
• 150 g chicken breast
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp butter
• ½ tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp tomato puree
• ½ can canned tomatoes
• 2 tbsp crème fraîche
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp harissa
• 180 g dried pasta
• 30 g parmesan
• 1 pinch chili flakes
• 1 handful fresh basil

Method

1. Finely slice shallots, fennel and garlic.
2. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Heat up olive oil in a lage pan and sauté the chicken until until the pieces has nice colour. Season with some salt and black pepper. Add the chicken pieces to a bowl and set to side.
3. Decrease the heat and add a knob of butter, the shallot, fennel and garlic to the pan. Add a tbsp or two of water if theres a lot sticking in the bottom of the pan. Simmer on medium/low heat until the vegetables are soft. This will take about 5-10 minutes.
4. Crush the fennel seeds roughly with a pestle and mortar (alternatively just keep them whole). Add them to the pan alongside the tomato paste. Simmer for about a minute.
5. Add the canned tomatoes. Let reduce a bit, 3-4 minutes.
6. Stir in the crème fraîche and the cooked chicken (make sure to also add all the liquid from it) and let simmer for a few seconds before you add lemon juice and harissa (or any other chili paste) to taste.
7. Cook the pasta according to the package. Keep some of the cooking liquid.
8. Grate the parmesan finely while the pasta is boiling. When the pasta is ready mix the drained pasta, 3/4 of the parmesan, a couple of table spoons (or the amount you need to get a nice texture) of the pasta cooking liquid and a knob of butter into the sauce.
9. Add the pasta to plates and top with chili flakes, fresh herbs (bonus point if you got a fennel with it`s fronds still attached) and the rest of the parmesan. Eat!