penne with fennel, tomato, and blue cheese

1 fennel bulb

225g/8oz/2cups penne pasta

30ml/2tsp olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

300ml/1 1/2pints/1 1/4cups passata

pinch of sugar

5ml/1tsp fresh oregano, chopped

115g/4oz blue cheese

(Supposedly serves 2, but we got three plates out of it and could have easily gotten four.)

1. Cut the fennel bulb in half. Cut away the hard core and root. Cut the fennel into thin strips.

2. Cook the pasta.

3. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Add the fennel and shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes over high heat. Do no allow browning.

4. Add the passata or an equivalent amount of canned, crushed tomatoes (which is what I did), sugar, and oregano. Cover the pan and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes. Toss the pasta and sauce together and top with crumbled blue cheese.