Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
1 bulb fennel, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/2 cup dry white wine
8 oz bottled clam juice
9 oz fresh linguine, cooked
50 little neck clams
freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Heat some olive oil in a large, heavy pot. Sauté onion and fennel until translucent. Add garlic and anchovy paste and cook, stirring occasionally until fragrant. Pour in wine and clam juice and boil until slightly reduced, 3-5 minutes. Add the clams and pepper to the sauce and simmer, covered, until the clams are fully opened. Toss with parsley and pasta.

My thoughts:

I’ve been on a fennel kick ever since I made that fennel-scallop chowder that was a-mazing. Who knew that fennel paired so well with seafood? Plus a new grocery store opened up and they sell it by the bulb not the pound which I love because fennel is heavy and there is a lot of waste since you don’t use the top stalks or the fronds. So I am no longer paying $7-8 for a bulb of fennel! Hurrah! $2.49 is much easier to swallow, at least until I can (hopefully!) find it even cheaper at the farmers market. It just adds a lovely, light almost floral note to the dish while letting the seafood flavor really shine.