Its sweet, its tangy, it got some kick from the pepper and the star of the show - the fennel seed!!
I had 0 expectations from what i was making.. all i knew that pork goes well with fennel and star anise.
I roasted some fennel seeds with 1/4th of star anise and some black pepper. Then grind them into fine powder.
Chopped some bacon and fried them with some of the powder i made
Sautéed some chopped onion in that bacon grease, added some more fennel seeds, garlic, chopped carrots
Added tomato paste and rest of the powder with some salt, after the raw smell was gone, i added fresh crème , pasta water and origano, added the chopped bacon and pasta
Garnished with some spring onion and some butter
Maybe some basil would work too but i didn't have any.
Will I get the Italian approval ?