Anchovy pasta with fennel and onions

The fennel and onions are sweet and caramelized, the anchovies briny and savoury, and the lemon bright and fresh. Cooked all together, they make a complex sauce for pasta. Note that this recipe calls for 6 ounces of anchovies, which may seem like an absurdly large amount. But it works—the little fish dissolve into a pungent sauce as they heat under pressure, and buttery pasta softens their salty bite. Use the best-quality anchovies here—usually those packed in olive oil in a glass jar where you can see the fillets are a good bet. Once taken out of the jar, good-quality anchovies should be firm and meaty, not mushy or gritty. Then take a bite; if one doesn’t taste delicious, a sauce with two dozen or so of them won’t either.

General

• Total time: 50 minutes
• Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and diced (fronds reserved for serving)
• salt
• large onion, diced
• 170/180 gram anchovy fillets, preferably packed in olive oil, drained and minced (uitlekgewicht, dus iets van 3 potjes of blikjes)
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 450 gram pasta, like macaroni or shells or whatever
• 2 cups chicken stock or vegetable broth, preferably homemade (this page)
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• Fresh lemon juice, for serving
• Fennel fronds or chopped chives, for serving
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Procedure

1. Using the sauté function, melt the butter and 2 tablespoons of the oil in the pressure cooker pot. Stir in the fennel and a large pinch of salt and cook until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons oil, the onion, anchovies, garlic, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spatula or spoon to scrape up the browned bits on the bottom, until everything is caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. If the bottom starts to burn, either turn the sauté function to low (if possible) or remove the pot from the pressure cooker to let it cool slightly.
3. Stir in the pasta, chicken stock or vegetable broth, 1½ cups water, the lemon zest, and ½ teaspoon salt. Lock the lid into place and cook on low pressure for 5 minutes. Manually release the pressure.
4. Stir the pasta and test for doneness—if it’s too al dente, cover the pot with the lid (but don’t lock it on), and let it sit for 5 minutes to cook the pasta a little more.
5. To serve, scoop the pasta into serving bowls, then drizzle with oil and lemon juice. Top with fennel fronds, black pepper, and a generous amount of Parmesan.