Shrimp and White Beans With Fennel and Pancetta Recipe (2024)

The spices were amazingly delicious, but I wish I hadn't followed the step to add half a can of water, as it turned out way soupier than I thought it would. As written, it's more like a sauce. I served it over freekeh and it was a hit.

Wonderful! Per other notes, I skipped the half can of water and instead deglazed the pan with a 1/4 c of white wine after cooking down the garlic, fennel seeds, and crushed red peppers. I served it with pasta, so added 1/2 c of pasta water to the tomatoes after they’d cooked down a bit. Wonderful flavors. Add extra salt, garlic, crushed red pepper.

Feta, yes! I have a recipe very similar to this (without the fennel) and it calls for feta to be added at the end, letting it melt just a little. Serve over rice. Wonderful!

Add more salt, serve over rice

Wonderful! I cooked the discarded shrimp shells with a little Bay seasoning and used that instead of plain water. Ladled it over some stale pieces of baguette, and topped with parm/reggiano, but I like the suggestion of feta. Very fast and easy except peeling and cleaning the shrimp.

Loved this! Used two strips of bacon, and added a couple of ribs of celery to the onion and fennel. Cooked down the tomato sauce until thick, then added beans (drained and barely rinsed so some of the liquid in the can would add thickening to the sauce) and let them heat up, while I cut the shrimp up into bite-sized pieces. This hit the spot on a cold winter night. I will make it again (maybe even in the summer!)

More salt, or feta, would be good. 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes are plenty to give some heat, but not overpowering it. I think I would replace the water with white wine, and put in before the tomatoes to cook off the alcohol. Served over rice.

Excellent recipe. Took other's advice and used very little water, but added some pernod and added whole can of beans with liquid. Also added 2 jalapenos and 1/2 a package of goat cheese, which made it really good and creamy. Next time would add a lb. of kielbasa.

Another delightful tomato and shrimp concoction. Loved the fennel and cannelli beans and the pepper flakes gave this a nice kick. Use more than 1 pound of shrimp because it's so good this dish deserves more. And the crusty garlicky bread was perfect. Good tip to not use too much water, I used 1/4 can and that was about right. Served with H3 Merlot and chocolate pots du creme fir dessert. Memorable

More salt. A lot more.

I also used some dry vermouth to de-glaze the pan, which worked out very nicely. I would probably add more white beans next time, since I felt they got a little lost among the fennel and tomatoes, but I also love white beans so that's a personal choice. Otherwise the recipe was simple and delicious and a big hit at a dinner party, served with white quinoa to soak up some of the delicious sauce. Next time I'll use crusty bread.

Per other reviewers who said the additional water was not needed. I think it depends on the brand of tomatoes you use. The Bianco Di Napoli brand I used had quite thick puree that benefitted from some additional water. And, similar to an Ottolenghi recipe with seafood and tomato - a scattering of cubes of sheep milk feta added at the end were a great addition. Great easy dish, company worthy too.

Do you think this would be good with a little feta on top??

Very pleasing meal served over creamy polenta. Didn’t use bacon/pancetta and added a splash of vermouth to deglaze the pan after sautéing the onions and fennel instead of adding water.

Agreed with recommendations to use 1/4 white wine instead of water. This was an easy meal to prepare and delicious. My daughter who loves soup was happy as well as my son who had his over rice. I definitely will make this again but will cook the fennel and onions a little bit longer as it was a bit crunchy.

DELICIOUS and EASY - the best of all combos.

Extra salt, garlic, etc would be welcome, but a solid and easy dish nonetheless.

Followed the directions exactly but added a splash of white wine for deglazing. Fabulous!

Great weeknight meal- delicious and super easy. Served with crusty bread for the delicious sauce. Will definitely make again!

I agree with everyone who’s raved about this. I do think you need to check salt. We needed to add some! Two cans of beans were good but did we need them??? One might be enough.

Skipped most of the water, also didn’t have fennel seeds so I figured the fresh fennel was enough. Added a lil white wine midway through cooking. Absolutely delicious — you *must* eat this with some garlic bread.

I added a splash of the red wine I was drinking instead of the water and it really made the flavour of the tomatoes sing. Had served over basmati rice, but would like to try over pasta minus the beans.

Always wine never water! I added an extra step and brined then roasted the shrimp. Added them at the very end just to warm them through. A crusty baguette accompanied...delicious.

Didn’t have shrimp so subbed… ground pork. Yes, I know. I changed the recipe. Just here to say it turned out great, so if you’re out of shrimp, I found the recipe to be adaptable! Added a bit of Italian seasoning as well.

This was quite good. Did not have pancetta so used a little sausage and also added thinly sliced parsnips and frozen spinach. Very satisfying meal.

A teaspoon of caraway seeds was a really good addition.

Made as directed, with the (scant) half-can of water, and didn't mind the soupiness. A hunk of crusty garlic bread to mop up the sauce did the trick. At the last moment I discovered that I didn't have any basil, but a combination of fennel fronds, parsley, and fresh oregano tasted great.

Had leftovers a few days later, heated over jasmine rice. It was even better than the first time around. Warming, nourishing, delicious.

Less bacon; yogurt; lemon at the end

Absolutely delicious. I skipped the 1/2 can of water in favor of white wine as suggested by others. Added chopped kale from the garden toward the end of cooking (beans and greens!). Plenty salty for me but that may be the pancetta I used — from a farmers’ market vendor. I’d also add more shrimp next time. This is definitely entering the regular rotation.