"His creative, imaginative cuisine has its roots in logic commonsense, craft skills of the highest order, and a focus on raw materials of the finest qualities...."
MY BOOK
Full on Irish
Available Now
to buy online
you are here: > Home > recipes > kitchen garden
Braised Fennel
Fennel just seems to get forgotten about all too often. Its distinct flavour makes it the perfect accompaniment to chicken or fish, both of which have an affinity with aniseed. I also like putting these on the barbecue for that subtle smoky taste that only cooking over coals will give.
Ingredients
- serves: 4-8
- time: N/A
- oven temp: N/A°C / N/A°F
- 4 fennel bulbs
- 120 ml/4 fl oz olive oil
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 fresh thyme sprig
- 1 fresh rosemary sprig
- juice of 1 lemon
- about 600 ml/1 pint kitchen garden stock (see page 00) or water
- a little freshly grated Parmesan (optional)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Braised Fennel
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Trim the fennel bulbs and cut in half, leaving the roots intact so that the pieces hold together nicely. Heat the oil in a casserole dish with a lid and sauté the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured. Stir in the herbs and lemon juice and then season to taste.
Add the fennel pieces to the casserole dish and then pour in enough stock or water to just cover. Season to taste. Cover with a cartouche (a circle of greaseproof paper cut the same diameter as the casserole dish with a small hole in the middle to let the steam escape). Bring to the boil, then transfer to the oven and braise for 35-40 minutes until the fennel is completely tender and lightly glazed.
Remove the fennel from the oven and leave to cool completely in the remaining braising liquid in the casserole dish. Once cold, transfer to a Kilner jar and pour in enough of the braising liquid to cover completely. This will keep happily in the fridge for up to 1 week.
To Serve
Drain the fennel pieces and either gratinate under the grill sprinkled with a little Parmesan or barbecue over medium coals for about 5 minutes or until warmed through.