Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

Just 10 ingredients - including balsamic, sage, and caramelized onions - make this simple pasta so delicious that I always go back for seconds.

Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

Before I get to today’s recipe, I have some exciting news for you – do you remember this trip to Sonoma that I went on a few months ago? Well now it’s your chance to go on that exact same trip, hosted by the lovely folks at Fortessa.

You’ll get to stay at the gorgeous Fairmont hotel, attend cooking class at the original Williams Sonoma Store, and of course have amazing food and wine the whole time. It was tons of fun (click here to enter) my fingers are crossed for you!

Now back to the recipe!

Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

This pasta is super easy, yet warming and wintery. Lightly caramelized onions and fennel are tangled within fresh linguine noodles. Sage and a splash of balsamic make it earthy yet still a little bit bright. I was going to sauté some lacinato kale until I spotted this gorgeous tatsoi at my farmers market – how pretty is that? Of course, if you can’t find tatsoi near you, kale or chard will work perfectly here as well.

Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

We’ve been loving this winter pasta dish as well as our gorgeous new bone-white Fortessa dish-ware that I served it in. For all of the vintage and/or patterned dishes that I collect, I love having really good quality classic white dinnerware to use every day and also for special occasions when I want to appear as if I have things “together.”

When Jack and I first got married, we got (what I thought was) a really nice set, but over the years, it’s chipped, scratched and now oddly numbered because we’ve broken so many pieces… and I won’t even get started about how many wine glasses we’ve gone through. But not anymore! The Fortessa ceramics and Schott Zwiesel glassware is chip-proof, break resistant. It’s used in many many 4 and 5 start hotels because it’s so lovely and also insanely durable. Which means that we feel like very fancy adults now.


Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

Pictured: Fortessa Rim Soup Plates, Royal Pacific Flatware and Schott Zwiesel Pure Double Old Fashioned Glasses. Fortessa dinnerware, flatware, and Schott Zwiesel glassware are all available at Williams Sonoma stores and online.


4.8 from 6 reviews

Linguine with Fennel & Winter Greens

 
This delicious pasta would make a great winter weeknight dinner. Skip the cheese to make it vegan, and use whatever winter greens you can find.
Author:
Recipe type: Pasta
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced onion
  • ⅓ cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed, but still whole
  • 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
  • 4 sage leaves, chopped
  • 8 ounces linguine pasta, plus reserved pasta water
  • 8 tatsoi leaves (or kale or swiss chard), stems removed, leaves torn
  • Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
  • Toasted walnuts
  • Parmesan shavings (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel, garlic, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and fennel are golden brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the balsamic and cook 2 more minutes until the fennel is very soft and the onion is lightly caramelized. (If necessary, reduce the heat and add a little more oil to prevent the onions from burning). Add the sage and stir.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package, cooking until al dente. Do not drain.
  3. Remove the crushed garlic cloves from the onion mixture, then scoop the pasta into the skillet directly from the water. Add the tatsoi leaves and toss until everything is incorporated and the tatsoi is wilted. Add ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water, if necessary, to help loosen the pasta. Season to taste with more salt, pepper, balsamic, and a squeeze of lemon, if desired.
  4. Serve in bowls with toasted walnuts and Parmesan shavings, if using.
Notes
Make this vegan by using vegan pasta and omitting the parmesan cheese. Make it gluten free by using gluten-free pasta.

This post was created in partnership, and is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Fortessa.

20 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it):  

  1. Rachel
    10.17.2016

    Love this dish! I’ve never tried many of the flavors together: fennel, tatsoi, and walnuts together but it’s delicious! Our CSA found your recipe and sent it to us for our recent box that included fennel, tatsoi, leeks, and kale. I used both greens and the leeks instead of onions plus the fennel per instructions. So creative, thank you!

  2. Karen M from karenskitchen.wordpress.com
    03.13.2016

    Looks so delicious!! ❤️

  3. This was sooooooooooo good. I would never think to pair walnuts with this dish but YUMMMMMMMMMMM was it good! I have yet to try a recipe from your website I dont like! GOD BLESS YA AND YOUR SKILLS!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.04.2016

      Hi Emily! Ha, thank you, your comment just made my day!! Glad you liked the walnuts in here 🙂

  4. Christy
    01.31.2016

    Yum! Really simple to make. Clean and fresh. We loved it.

  5. Samantha from whatsupusana.com
    01.18.2016

    Looks so good (and easy to make too!) 🙂 Thanks for sharing

  6. Caroline from carolinesfeast.com
    01.18.2016

    Wow this looks gorgeous and easy, just what i’m usually looking for! I think I’ll try this tonight. Thanks for the inspiration!

  7. I always look up to every recipe you post daily and this will be listed down to my “to-cook-list” this weekend. Looks easy to prepare. My family will surely love this!

  8. Doesn’t your meal almost taste better when you feel like a fancy adult with nice dinnerware? This dish looks lovely

  9. Love the bone white plates and LOVE this pasta dish!! I eat fennel roasted, cooked, grilled and raw lol

  10. This is such a gorgeous bowl of pasta! I’m obsessed with fennel this year. So this is going right up on the “to-make” list!

  11. Yum! This sounds delicious! And those glasses sounds like exactly what I need.

    g.

    • And by that I meant, “those glasses sound exactly like what I need.” Friday afternoon got the best of me 😉

  12. Allyson from consideringtheradish.wordpress.com
    01.15.2016

    This looks gorgeous. I’m still getting to know fennel, and I’ve yet to be introduced to tatsoi, so I’ll have to make this very soon.

  13. Jesse from thedomestic.squarespace.com
    01.15.2016

    This looks like it might have to be on the dinner menu tonight. Love fennel!

  14. Katrina from warmvanillasugar.com
    01.15.2016

    A yummy pasta AND a chance to go on a trip?! Woo hoo!! This recipe sounds great. I need to cook more with fennel!

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.