List all recipes for: Fennel
Braised Fennel
Wash and trim fennel bulb, finely chop enough trimmings to make ½ cup. Halve bulb by cutting top to bottom, or cut into quarters, through the core. Heat a little oil and butter in an ovenproof pan large enough to hold the fennel in one layer. When the butter starts to bubble, add fennel and an unpeeled garlic clove and sauté on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, turning to brown on both sides. Add ½ cup minced fennel the last 5 minutes and let lightly brown. Salt lightly. Pour in ¼ cup water and ¼ cup white vermouth if you wish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve fennel with pan juices drizzled over.
Braised Fennel and White Beans
This is an especially flavorful side dish with pork chops or sausages
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fennel bulb, halved lengthwise and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 red onion, halved lengthwise and cut lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 cups freshly cooked Cannellini beans, drained
1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon butter
Heat oil in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Add fennel and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add beans, stock, oregano and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by about half, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in vinegar and butter, and serve.
Creamed Fennel Soup
2 oz. unsalted butter
1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 lb. cream cheese, chopped
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. fresh chives, chopped
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. lemon juice
Melt butter in a heavy nonstick pan over low heat. Add fennel, cover pan and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not allow fennel to color. Stir in potatoes and stock and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor and add cheese. Process until mixture is smooth and creamy. Or use an immersion blender. Return soup to pan. Add chives and juice. Stir over low heat until just heated through.
Fall Vegetable Stew
This is a tasty side dish for a slow cooked pot roast.
2 fennel bulbs, stalks removed and cut into 8 wedges
8 Cippollini onions
4 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch long pieces
2 tablespoon butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
3 thyme sprigs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons finely chopped fennel leaves
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 1 tablespoon salt and add the fennel, onions and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and spread out on a kitchen towel and pat vegetables dry. Heat half of the butter and half of the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add half the vegetables and half the garlic and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar and cook, stirring, until nicely browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat with remaining butter, oil, vegetables, garlic and sugar. Return vegetables in the bowl to the pan along with broth, wine and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender about 20 minutes, adding more broth if needed to keep it from drying out. Taste for doneness and seasoning. If there is more than 1/2 cup liquid left in the pan, use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables to a serving dish, turn the heat to high and reduce liquid to 1/2 cup, then pour over the vegetables and garnish with fennel fronds.
Fennel and Quinoa Salad
1 fennel bulb
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup flat leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, from 2 lemons
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Toast quinoa in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until fragrant and brown, about 5 minutes. Add water, raise heat and bring to a boil. Cover and adjust heat to maintain a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate, uncovered, until cool, about 1 hour. Meanwhile, cut fennel bulb in half lengthwise. Using a very sharp knife or mandolin, slice lengthwise as thinly as possible. Place in an ice water bath for up to 30 minutes. When ready to serve, drain fennel and pat dry. Add parsley, dill, lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper. Let sit for a few minutes. Divide quinoa between 4 salad plates and top with fennel mixture.
Fennel Apple Bisque
Trim root end and stalks from a fennel bulb, saving some of the feathery fronds for garnish. Chop bulb. Peel, core and chop 2 large apples and 1 large onion. Saute onion in 2 tablespoons butter until softened, 5 minutes. Add 4 cups chicken broth, fennel and apple. Bring to a boil, then simmer until fennel is soft about 20 minutes. Stir in 1 cup fresh watercress and cook until greens wilt. Puree soup with an immersion blender, thin with more broth if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Serve garnished with minced fennel fronds and crumbled blue cheese.
Fennel Basics
The vegetable is a licorice-scented, crisp-textured, green and white bulb with slender stalks and fern-like fronds. In Italy it is served raw, thinly sliced with a simple sauce of olive oil, salt and pepper called Pinzimonio; baked with white wine and Parmigiano; or braised in butter and white wine. Wild fennel is the plant from which the licorice-scented seeds are gathered and whose dried stalks, when added to a grilling fire, give magnificent perfume to meat and fish.
Fennel Gratin
This is a basic gratin, other vegetables, including greens such as chard, can be used with this same technique
2 large fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
2/3 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim the fennel of the green tops and any discolored layers. Cut each bulb into 8 wedges, do not remove the core. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the fennel. Cook for 5 minutes, drain and spread out on a kitchen towel and pat dry. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, mix well and stir and cook for 3 minutes. Add the milk and use a whisk to mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to keep a very slow simmer and cook for 10 minutes, whisking occasionally. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Whisk in the cheese. Butter a small gratin dish just large enough to hold the fennel wedges in one layer. Pour the sauce over and bake for 20 minutes. The sauce should be bubbling and lightly brown. Serve hot.
Fennel with Parmesan Cheese
Wash, trim fennel bulb and steam until just barely tender, about 8-10 minutes. Cool a bit then cut into quarters, through the core. Place in a butter baking dish, cover with ½ cup Parmesan cheese and about 2 T. butter, cut into bits. Season with salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
Oven Potatoes with Fennel
20 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in 1/2" cubes
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and cut in 1" slices
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced finely
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper -- to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, combine potatoes, fennel, onion, parsley, oil, salt and pepper; toss gently until well coated. Arrange mixture in a single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until potatoes are crisp on all sides, 30-35 minutes. Serve immediately.
Risotto Style Barley with Spring Greens
Barley gives this a wonderful chewy texture.
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups pearl barley
6 1/2 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
1 ½ cups fresh peas
1 bunch fresh spinach, thinly sliced, or any young, tender spring greens
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Generously spray heavy large pot with nonstick spray. Place pot over medium-high heat. Add half of leeks and half of fennel to pot. Sauté until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in thyme, then barley. Add 2 1/2 cups broth. Simmer until liquid is almost absorbed, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Add remaining leeks, fennel and 4 cups broth. Bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until barley is tender and mixture is creamy, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Add peas, spinach, Parmesan cheese and chopped basil to barley and stir to blend. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to 6 shallow bowls. Garnish with basil sprigs and serve with good bread.
Roasted Fennel #1
Normally fennel tastes like a cross between celery, cabbage, and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out an entirely new flavor - as if pine nuts decided to join the party. This is great to serve with anything…meat, roasted vegetables….
Fennel bulb (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs sliced
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with aluminum foil. Place fennel in a single layer and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.
Roasted Fennel #2
1 bunch small red onions
1 bulb fennel, cleaned and quartered
2 T. good olive oil
Pepper to taste
2 T balsamic vinegar
3 T parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in bottom of small roasting pan. Coat onions and fennel by rolling in pan. Pepper lightly. Cover with foil and seal tightly. Roast for 35 minutes until tender when pierced with fork. Uncover, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and coat with parmesan. Cook uncovered at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes (until parmesan melts and lightly browned.)
Spinach and Fennel Salad
1/4 lb. small spinach leaves
1 fennel bulb
2 oz. chopped walnuts or pecans
2 oz. olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar
1 tsp. French mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp. honey
salt and pepper
Remove thick stalks from spinach and tear leaves into salad bowl. Trim leaves from fennel and reserve. Slice fennel bulb very thinly and add with nuts to the bowl. Put olive oil and remaining ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lids. Shake well to blend. Just before serving, pour over the dressing and toss well to coat. Garnish with fennel leaves.
