Black spaghetti with shrimp, artichoke, fennel & olive

Last time we went for a trip in Rome, our hotel located at a residential area. The neighborhood vegetable stores were so many, crates and crates of artichoke, fennel, zucchini flowers stacking up high, took up half of the sidewalks and all corners. Merely looking at them I already felt very nourishing! The same feeling that I got while preparing this dish today - sauteed artichoke head, fennel bulb and green olive, tossed in cooked cuttlefish ink spaghetti, finally flourished with a bit lemon juice.

Some notes to two of the ingredients. First the cuttlefish ink spaghetti. I had expected some sort of pronounced flavor, but really none. Perhaps cuttlefish ink isn't supposed that way. Perhaps other brands do better. Perhaps I have a fish tongue (I love crab roes, shrimp's head, salmon's belly). Second, the fennel. It's my first try, after seeing the delicious fennel dishes at Chris' blog Mele Cotte. 99% of the licorice scent in my fennel has gone once it's cooked, it's fine since I don't fancy for licorice. It now tasted more like cooked celery or cabbage, although I have to admit, I'd be more thrilled if I only paid the price of celery or cabbage for fennel :) :) When prepared the ingredients, I just eyeballed the amount, but I still very concentrated, kept thinking what the final flavor I wanted to accomplish ... something very tangy and spicy (hot)... then my hands automatically got judgement. And the pasta turned out exactly what I wanted.

Recipe (yield: 2 persons as the first course)

*if you use tubular pasta, you can cut the vegetable chunky)

• 2 servings of cuttlefish ink spaghetti
• some shrimps. If they're too big, dice them up.
• 1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 1 small artichoke, sliced. I used oil-preserved one
• small handful of green olives, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• olive oil for cooking
• extra virgin olive oil (fruity preferable) for final drizzling
• red chili pepper flakes
• A bit fresh lemon juice
• sea salt to taste

Directions

• Bring a big pot of water to boil, to cook my pasta will take 10 minutes, so I also start to saute the other ingredients as they take about the same amount of time.
• Pre-heat a skillet, add a generous amount of olive oil, saute the fennel with a pinch of salt over medium/ medium-low heat for 5 - 7 minutes. Raise up the heat, add more oil as needed, add garlic and shrimps, stir for a minute or 2 (don't overcook). Add artichoke and green olive, cook for another minute. Drain the pasta, fold them into the same skillet, toss with lemon juice and salt to taste. Drizzle more e.v. olive oil. Sprinkle chili flakes. Immediately serve them on warm plate.

I contribute this recipe to Presto Pasta Night, found by Ruth of Once Upon a Feast. Please join us or hop over on Friday to check out the round-up!

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