A Couple of Fennel Recipes

After featuring fennel in the Food Alphabetical the other week, I promised a couple of recipes. That ignited a spark in the memory banks, and I see that I published a couple almost exactly seven years ago.

I have to say that neither of them particularly appeals. For me, the aniseedy taste needs to be muted a bit. What you can do is blanch it for a couple of minutes. That will take the edge off. Similarly anything with added Pernod is unlikely to get my vote, but I do like fennel when braised. Any recipe featuring celery can be adapted to fennel and vice versa.

When looking for things to do with veg, one of my go to books is Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book. First published nearly 50 years ago it is still in print, testament to its immense value to any cook. Here are a couple of very simple recipes. The first is an easy braise which would be ideal if you want to serve the veg as a side. The second, which Mrs Grigson describes as her favourite fennel dish, is equally straightforward.

To prepare fennel, cut off the tops and bottoms, reserving the leaves for garnish. The outer leaves are often rather coarse and you may choose to discard them. For braising, it's good to cut into wedges, but you may wish simply to slice. The cooking time will obviously vary according to your choice.

Braised Fennel with Onion and Garlic

Ingredients

6 fennel bulbs; 1 large onion, chopped; 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed; 100g butter; chopped fennel leaves (reserved from when you trim the bulbs); glug of double cream (optional); s & p.

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Trim and slice the bulbs, cutting into (not too thin) slices. Simmer them in salted water until just tender. Drain and pat dry. Soften the onion and garlic in half the butter, in a frying pan large enough to take the fennel.

Add the fennel to the frying pan along with the rest of the butter. Season with s & p. Simmer until the fennel is very tender. Add the cream if using and allow to bubble for a couple of minutes. Check the seasoning. Sprinkle with the chopped leaves just before serving.

Fennel Baked with Parmesan Cheese

Note - Jane says that no other cheese will do, so no pecorino and no Gran Padano. In the seasoning there is no need for salt as the cheese is so salty.

Ingredients

6 fennel bulbs, trimmed and quartered; 3 tbsp grated Parmesan; butter; pepper.

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Cook the fennel in salted water until tender. Not crisp and not floppy, the great lady instructs us.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/Mark 6. While the fennel is cooking, generously butter an oven dish. Drain the fennel chunks well and pat dry. Put them in the dish with a generous grating of black pepper. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the fennel is bubbling.