Fennel is perfect right now. Here’s a few simple ideas of what to do with it.
One of the absolute best ways to eat fennel is caramelised or baked. This recipe was on the cooking show The Best (UK version) from the fabulously famous Aussie Chef, Ben O’Donoghue. I could never find this recipe online unfortunately, so had to go on my memory and a few hastily written notes on scrap paper. It’s a cracker way to eat fennel, really moorish, perfect for a light lunch, a side dish, mezze or tapas dish.
Another of my favourite ways, is to simply shave the fennel with a mandolin and drizzle with olive oil, a little lemon juice (or wine vinegar), season with sea salt, a few teaspoons of capers and sprinkling of finely chopped fresh dill, basil or coriander.
Taking this idea one step further, here’s an Italian classic…..
Fennel and Orange Salad
INGREDIENTS
1 bulb of fennel
1 orange
1 scoop of Kalamata olives
extra virgin olive oil
wine vinegar or lemon juice
soft goats cheese *(I use Meredith Dairy brand)
fresh dill (or fennel fronds)
sea salt
METHOD
1. Shave the fennel as thinly as possible using a mandolin.
2. Sprinkle with sea salt, olive oil and vinegar and about 1/2 tblspn of fennel fronds or dill and mix through to coat the fennel evenly.
3. Remove the skin from the orange, slice thinly and cut the slices in half.
4. Arrange the orange slices over the fennel.
5. Top with olives and goats cheese.
Caramelised Fennel
INGREDIENTS
2 fennel bulbs
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
Rind of ½ lemon
Juice of ½ lemon
1 tblpsn olive oil
Chopped dill or fennel fronds
METHOD
1. Cut fennel into chunks and fry in olive oil in a saucepan until starting to caramelise.
2. Put in a bit of water and cook until water gone. Add a little more water & continue cooking for a while (maybe 10-20mins) adding splash of water as needed
3. Once soft, add a sprinkle of sea salt & the garlic, a tablespoon fennel fronds or dill and grated lemon rind. Cook for a few more minutes.
4. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil and more fennel fronds as garnish.
5. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
We often get Fennel as part of the organic co-op, and I never know what to do with it. Will definitely be trying these ones, they look delicious.
Organic must have fabulous flavour. Let me know how you go! I need to find one of those co-op’s such a great idea.
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Hi there, thanks for your feedback and for stopping by. The theme of my blog page is Twenty Ten by the WordPress, which I then customised using my own photos. Hope this helps. Cheers,