In Sicily, spring arrives with the scent of wild fennel which quietly fills the fields and streets from early March onwards.
It often happens, whilst walking along the paths of Pantelleria, that you return home with a lovely bunch of freshly picked wild fennel.
Wild fennel is versatile and lends itself to many traditional Sicilian recipes:
meatballs are one of these, an excellent starter to serve to your guests, perhaps at Easter.
Here’s how to make them.
INGREDIENTS
Serves 4:
300g freshly picked wild fennel
1 egg
A handful of grated pecorino cheese
Two heaped tablespoons of breadcrumble
One small red onion
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying
DIRECTIONS
First, remove any overly thick stalks and rinse the wild fennel under cold water.
Cook it in salted water for about 20 minutes.
Drain it and leave to cool.
Chop it finely.
In a bowl, combine the egg, breadcrumbs, cheese (if you don’t have pecorino, Parmesan is fine too), the finely chopped onion, a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
Mix the mixture well, then shape into meatballs the size of an egg.
When it’s nearly time to eat them, heat plenty of vegetable oil and fry the meatballs on both sides until they are golden brown.
Leave to drain for a few minutes on kitchen paper and serve hot.
Bon appétit!
