Fennel in tomato sauce

Fennel in tomato sauce

My mother-in-law has a great collection of Italian food magazines as well as files with clippings. This is a hobby we share. One of my Christmas presents from her was a book of recipes as featured in Inspector Montalbano series. Imagine my delight. I am totally in love with Salvo, have read all the books in the series and watched all episodes. A while ago I asked her if I could borrow a small magazine "Le verdure d'autumno" (Autumn vegetables) from the series Arte in Cucina which was published in October 1999. Having read the issue, I liked most of the recipes featured in the magazine, they are not too difficult (in fact some are very easy to make) but look colourful and full of flavour.
One that I fancied trying the other day is called simply "I finocchi" (Fennel). I have adapted it, changing some quantities and ingredients.

Le verdure d'autumno (L'arte in cucina)

Fennel in tomato sauce
Ingredients:
750g fennel (two big bulbs)
1 big banana shallot, finely chopped
4tbsp olive oil
1 tin of plum tomatoes in tomato juice
a few cloves
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a few sprigs of fresh oregano
salt and pepper
Slice the fennel into big pieces. Fry the chopped shallot in the olive oil for about 4 minutes, stirring. Use a deep frying pan. Add the fennel, scatter the cloves, add a tin of tomatoes and freshly chopped herbs. Season with salt and pepper, cover the pan with the lid and cook, simmering, for 25 minutes.
Serve hot, as a side dish or a meat-free main with a nice chunk of bread.

Adding my post to Cooking with herbs linky at Lavender and Lovage. This month's theme is Store-cupboard basics, essentials and herbs. A tin of tomatoes counts as one of my cupboard basics and essentials.

I'm also entering this into the #RecipeClippings at Farmersgirl Kitchen.

And one more linky, Bookmarked recipes at Tinned Tomatoes.