Roasted Fennel Marinara Chicken Penne

Roasted Fennel Marinara Chicken Penne. Roasting the fennel brings out more sweetness with a mild anise like flavour that complements the chicken and pasta beautifully in this recipe.

Roasted Fennel Marinara Chicken Penne.

Originally published Sept 2008.

Fennel is one of my favourite vegetables. I just love the mild anise like flavour it brings to many dishes.

It is particularly loved by the Italians and I have tasted it in many types of italian dishes. It is served raw in one of my favourite coleslaw recipes too.

I’ve had it roasted, braised with apples, even baked in a casserole with cheese and breadcrumbs as a side dish! So delicious.

We always like to have a good tomato sauce on hand for quick dinners with little effort. Everyone needs more quick, economical and tasty workday dinners.

Start your own gourmet pizza night! Use our NO KNEAD PIZZA DOUGH!

My favourite pizza places always use fennel seed in their sauce, which I love too. That was part of the inspiration for this recipe, which can also be used as a fantastically flavourful homemade pizza sauce.

Roasted Fennel Marinara Chicken Penne.

I make large batches of this sauce and freeze it in pint sized containers for quick and easy workday dinners.

Take some out if the freezer in the morning to uselater in the day. Of course, microwave deforsting is always an option too.

A batch of my homemade Italian Sausage containing fennel seed!

Add some Italian sausage instead of the chicken if you like. Yet another economical meal idea for dinner, ready in about 20-30 minutes.

Are you a pasta lover like me?

If you can’t get enough of great pasta dinner recipes, please check out our collection of 20 Best Pasta Dinners!

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Roasted Fennel Marinara Sauce Chicken Penne

Roasted Fennel Marinara Chicken Penne. Roasting the fennel brings out more sweetness with a mild anise like flavour that complements the chicken and pasta beautifully in this recipe.

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Ingredients

For the roasted fennel

• 1/2 head fennel sliced
• salt and pepper to season
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 small red onion finely diced

For the sauce

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 small red onion finely diced
• The roasted fennel puree
• 2 large cans (32 oz can) crushed Roma tomatoes
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp basil
• 1 whole bay leaf
• 1 large carrot finely grated
• ½ cup finely diced celery
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

For the chicken

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• Salt and pepper to season

You will also need

• 1 pound penne pasta, cooked in well salted boiling water

Instructions

To prepare the Fennel puree

1. In a large baking pan toss the fennel slices with the olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F until the fennel is fork tender. 30 minutes or so.
3. Remove from oven and puree in a food processor or food mill. (If fresh fennel is not available try substituting 2 tsp crushed fennel seeds in the sauce but add another cup of crushed tomatoes.)

To prepare the sauce

1. In a large saucepan sauté the garlic, onion in the 3 tbsp oil  for 1 minute.
2. Add the roasted fennel puree, tomatoes, oregano, basil, bay leaf, carrot, celery, brown sugar salt and pepper.
3. Slowly simmer for about an 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove the bay leaf.

To prepare the chicken

1. Meanwhile cut the chicken breasts into large cubes.
2. Sauté the chicken with the 3 tbsp olive oil, and 2 cloves garlic until the chicken is cooked and slightly browned.
3. Toss in the chopped red pepper.
4. Add the chicken to the sauce in the last 5 minutes or so of the simmering time.
5. Serve over freshly cooked penne pasta with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Notes

Serves 6.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 494Total Fat 25gSaturated Fat 4gUnsaturated Fat 21gCholesterol 69mgSodium 90mgCarbohydrates 36gFiber 4gSugar 8gProtein 31g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.

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