Braised fennel pasta (and a hug)

Pasta and macaroni Italian cuisine

In the times when I was fresh out of home, poor and in need of comfort, I would make a perfectly unassuming dish from Stephanie Alexander called "braised fennel in meat juices with cheese". The oddly unflattering name never came close to doing it justice. Over time the recipe became a quick weeknight pasta dish with bacon, garlic and a little hit of warming chilli, but the heart remained the same. It's deceptively rich for something so simple and the perfect thing for a rainy afternoon.