White Pasta Sauce with Fennel and Celeriac
Impossible to miss spaghetti sauce when cooking with a group. In this case, we’ve given it a little “white” twist by adding celeriac and fennel. You can avoid having to deal with all the vegetable cutting by using your food processor to chop everything, including the mortadella, which ensures a homogeneous texture. The veggies release […]
Ingredients
- 1 celeriac, about 1 lb (450 g) peeled and cubed
- 1 fennel bulb, cubed, fronds reserved for serving
- 2 onions, cubed
- 6 garlic cloves, halved
- 1 package (175 g) mortadella or sliced bacon
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) olive oil
- 4.4 lb (2 kg) lean ground pork or ground veal
- 1 tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp ground fennel seeds
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 cup (250 ml) white wine
- 8 cups (2 litres) chicken broth
- 1 cup (250 ml) 35% cream
Instructions
- In a food processor, finely chop the celeriac and place in a bowl. Finely chop the fennel in the food processor and place in the same bowl. Finely chop the onions and garlic in the processor and set aside in another bowl. Finely chop the mortadella in the processor and set aside.
- In a very large pot over medium-high heat, brown the onions and garlic in the oil. Add the celeriac and fennel. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the mortadella, ground meat, herbs and red pepper flakes. Cook the meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, without letting it brown. Add the wine and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced by half.
- Pour the broth into the pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 2 hours or until the sauce has thickened, regularly scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Pour in the cream and let simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve the white sauce over tagliatelle and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. Sprinkle with the fennel fronds.
Impossible to miss spaghetti sauce when cooking with a group. In this case, we’ve given it a little “white” twist by adding celeriac and fennel. You can avoid having to deal with all the vegetable cutting by using your food processor to chop everything, including the mortadella, which ensures a homogeneous texture. The veggies release their flavour, resulting in a soft, nicely coating sauce with the ground pork. You’ll get everything you love in a Bolognese sauce, without the tomatoes!