Homemade Tagliatelle with Mussels and Samphire, Light Anise Sauce

Fresh pasta dough can be prepared the day before and wrapped in plastic wrap. You will cut the pasta into tagliatelle the following day.

Prepare the broth: Lightly brown the onion, garlic, carrot, and the trimmings from the fennel that you will use for the sauce in a pot with a drizzle of olive oil and a generous teaspoon of salt. Also add the parsley, dill, and the seeds of anise and fennel. Cover generously with water and bring to a boil, then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Cooking the mussels: Wash and sort the mussels; if they don’t close, throw them away. Heat a pot with a little olive oil, add the mussels, cover, and let cook for a few minutes, a maximum of 5, until they all open. Drain the mussels in a large colander.

Samphire: Rinse the samphire. In a saucepan, with a pinch of salt, bring enough water to a boil to cover the samphire. Blanch the samphire by adding it to the boiling water, leave it for just a minute, drain, and stop the cooking by placing the samphire in a bowl of ice water.

The sauce: In a saucepan, pour in a drizzle of olive oil, sauté the chopped fennel until it is slightly tender. Add the cornstarch, and mix using a wooden spoon. Deglaze with the anise-flavored liqueur, add the broth, mix, and let the sauce thicken gently while stirring constantly. Pour in the cream, let it cook for 2 minutes, taste, and season.

Add the mussels (without their shells) and the well-drained sea beans to the sauce, remove the pot from the heat and set aside. I blanched the sea beans, but next time I will try adding them to the sauce before the mussels, letting them cook for a minute and then adding the mussels. I like the sea beans for their crunchy texture, and I find that blanching them has somewhat altered that texture. It's up to you based on your preferences. Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water and serve with the sauce hot, enjoy your meal!

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