Fennel seems to be jumping into my cart every time I go to the greengrocer. I make a salad with fennel and sweet red peppers; often saute it with shallots and thyme; or bake it with fish, tomatos and olives. Other recipes and ideas would be greatly appreciated. TIA
Amy, I like it just blanched for a little bit, then drizzled with EV and roasted in the oven. I think I used Marcella's recipes. (Yours sound good, too.)
Posts: 2054 | Location: Suburban Philadelphia | Registered: 08 July 2002
How about a fennel salad with beets, goat cheese and an orange vinaigrette? Slice the fennel very thin, blanch the beets and dice into chunks, and crumble in soft goat cheese. Make a vinaigrette out of 1 part fresh orange juice, 1 part champagne vinegar and 3 parts e.v. olive oil. and 1 sliced shallot. Fresh orange segments would also add a nice touch. Assemble (toss) it all at the last minute as the beets will "bleed" their color into everything else. If you want, you can marinate the beets in some of the dressing first.
I like it in salads One of my favorites is a salad of raw fennel with shaved pecorino Romano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Maybe a little arugula also.
Other salad options would be to mix it raw with oranges sections and butter lettuce. A citrus vinaigrette would be nice on the salad. Or mix it raw with beets, walnuts, frisee and gorgonzola. I would use a sherry vinaigrette with this salad.
I also love it in soups. I made the following several times this winter including for a holiday dinner
Roasted Fennel and White Bean Soup
1 bulb fennel, trimmed, halved cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled 1/2 white onion, peeled and sliced 2 tbl olive oil 14 oz can white beans, drained 3 cups chicken stock or broth 1/2 cup half-and-half (light cream) salt and pepper 2 tbl Pernod or other anise-flavored liqueur
On a rimmed baking sheet, spread fennel, garlic and onion. Drizzle with oil and toss to combine. Roast stirring occasionally, until fennel is tender and golden brown, 30-35 minutes.
Squeeze the roasted garlic from its peel into a deep sauce pan. Add the roasted fennel and onions. Add the beans and stock or broth, stir to combine. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low, cover and simmer gently until the fennel is very tender about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool for at least 10 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Return the soup to the pan and place over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until warmed through. Add the half-and-half, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine. Stir in Pernod. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Serves 4.
- Marta
Posts: 7707 | Location: Edmonds, WA | Registered: 25 October 2001
Thanks for the great suggestions! Oooh, and another use for roasted beets, which I also love.
A friend makes a wonderful topping for grilled fish with fennel. Chopped fennel is sauteed until very soft and almost caramelized, then pureed with a bit of butter, mustard, and chives.
Steam 3-4 fennel bulbs till fork tender. Chop roughly and put into a mixing bowl. Mix together 1 qt high quality ricotta (try to get something freshly and locally made and not the stuff that comes in vacumn sealed pints packed halfway across the country), 3-4 eggs, a big handful of the chopped leaves of the fennel, a big handfull of grated parmesan, lots of cracked black pepper, a few gratings of nutmeg. Put half of it in with the fennel pieces and reserve half. Butter or oil a souffle dish and dust with bread crumbs. Put in the fennel ricotta mix.Smooth and level roughly. Top with remaining ricotta mix and cover with a final toss of grated parmesan. Bake for 40 minutes at 350 till bubbly and brown. if it browns too early tent the dish with foil for the remaining cooking time. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Trim the fennel and cut in half top to bottom thru root. Cut thinly into rings. Put in mixing bowl. Trim oranged of peel and slice into 3/8" slices. Trim and slice radishes into thin discs. Toss everything in a bowl. Salt liberally and top with the best olive oil you can find. You can squeeze a little lemon, lime or orange juice to moistened if desired. Add fresh ground black pepper on top
If life is an opera by Puccini... I want to be Calaf!
Posts: 4614 | Location: Casa del Fenicottero Rosa, Silver Spring, MD USA | Registered: 06 August 2002
Another tasty recipe: Take 3 large bulbs of fennel, slice into thin long pieces. Take 2 onions, do the same, and take about 3-4 stalks of celery and chop into small pieces-put in a big plastic bag and toss with a good olive oil, salt and pepper. Put into a large roasting pan-cover with foil-roast in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes-ck for tenderness-should be soft but not mushy. Very good mix of flavors.
quote:Originally posted by Kristina: How about a fennel salad with beets, goat cheese and an orange vinaigrette?
A traditional recipe from Sicily also uses orange. Very simplyk cut the fennel in slices, for each fennell add one orance "pelato a vivo", this means that you have to vut off the skin from the whole orange so that there is no white left, than cut the slices off the slightly hard inner peels. Do it on a bowl, so that you collect all the juice that drips off. Add a little lemon juice to this juice, add extravirgin olive oil, salt and white pepper. Dress with this citronnette the fennel and orange salad. There you are.
Alice Twain -- Sciur capitan, questa che l’è la verità, adess ghe n’hoo piee i ball, Giovanni el turna a cà. Se te voret scriv te regali la mia pena, se te voret sparam questa l’è la mia schena.
Mr capitain, this is the truth Now I am sick of it, Giovanni goes back home If you want to write to me, I’ll give you my pencil If you want to shoot me, here’s my back
Davide Van De Sfroos, “Sciur capitan”
[This message was edited by Colleen on 10 March 2003 at 01:00 PM.]
One of my favorites is a simple gratin: split the bulbs in halves or quarters, depending on size. Simmer until just tender. Place in oiled baking dish and sprinkle grated cheese of your choice on top- some bread crumbs too, if you like. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes or so.
I haven't made this is so long that I'm not sure on the timing, but it's making my mouth water!
Posts: 403 | Location: Wisconsin | Registered: 26 April 2002
quote:Originally posted by Mezzaluna: Place in oiled baking dish and sprinkle grated cheese of your choice on top- some bread crumbs too, if you like.
Try using Parmigiano Reggiano and adding some milk too, and no breadcrumbs. They are called "fnoc a gnocc" (fennel in coagulated sauce or something like that) and are a traditional recipe in Parma. You can also make them in a casserole, bioling the fennell until tender than adding the milk and, at the very end, the cheese.
Alice Twain -- Sciur capitan, questa che l’è la verità, adess ghe n’hoo piee i ball, Giovanni el turna a cà. Se te voret scriv te regali la mia pena, se te voret sparam questa l’è la mia schena.
Mr capitain, this is the truth Now I am sick of it, Giovanni goes back home If you want to write to me, I’ll give you my pencil If you want to shoot me, here’s my back
Davide Van De Sfroos, “Sciur capitan”
[This message was edited by Chris on 11 March 2003 at 09:03 AM.]
Several years ago, I cooked Fennel so often that one of our sons visiting for lunch with his family stated that the day I served it as a desert, he would start declining our invitations. He doesn't particularly like fennel, but took the fennel desert liqueur with a wry smile.
My favourite recipe: Thinly slice fennel and braise in a heavy based pot in a little olive oil till lightly brown. Turn the heat right down and add sliced tomatoes and some stock (I like beef, but chicken or vegetable would be fine)to barely cover. Simmer with the lid on till fennel is soft then take lid off, add Parmigiano Reggiano and turn heat up a little to reduce the liquid. Serve with pepper.
"If it isn't true, it's to the point" Italian Proverb
Posts: 893 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 20 January 2002
My fennel recipe is like Gavins. I cut it into quarter's first and parboil it until tender. then I saute in olive oil, add fennel seeds and some oregano, then lay cheese slices on top and cover and turn down the heat to let the cheese melt.
Guess what we had for dinner last night?! Thanks to everyone for sharing your cooking techniques. I had some fennel on hand and sauted it in a similiar fashion to Gavin and Diva's suggestions, it was divine
Posts: 255 | Location: US | Registered: 14 July 2002
Go Dale!!! I am there! I make a sage version too that is fabulous! FYI... for 1 cup of everclear I use I cup of water and 1/2 -3/4 cup of sugar for a wild version. For milder use 2 cups of water and 1 cup of sugar. (like mroe commercial liquore's)
Here's another - in a mixture of butter and Olive Oil saute thinly sliced medium bulb with one thinly sliced onion and two garlic cloves until nicely browned (20 minutes or so). Add two tablespoons of Pernod. Butter a large piece of tin foil, spread the sauteed fennel/onions in the middle and place 2 filets (8 ounces or so) white fish on top (I usually use orange roughy, but anything works). Fold foil to make a sealed package and bake at 325 for about 25 minutes - the smell when you open the foil is wonderful!
Also, now when a recipe call for the "trinity" - "i.e. saute carrots, celery and onion" I just automatically add fennel.
Try cooking cannellini beans in tomatoes (any of the standard recipes will do). Finely grate the fennel and toss in lemon juice for about an hour and serve cold over the hot cannelini beans. Carlo told me that while it is common to dress fennel with vinegar, he hadn't heard of using lemon juice. It works.
"If it isn't true, it's to the point" Italian Proverb
Posts: 893 | Location: Sydney, Australia | Registered: 20 January 2002
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