Fennel Salad

I'm a huge fan of fennel. It's really good cooked-- it caramelizes very easily-- but it's also delicious raw, sliced very thinly, and tossed with a lemon-olive oil dressing. Here, it's paired with cheese, which adds a nice salty richness.

You'll need (serves 4):

2 bulbs fennel, fronds reserved

1 lemon

3T olive oil

salt & pepper

1/4 bunch parsley

hard cheese, like Gran Padano, Pecorino, Romano, Parmesan

Adjust other ingredients accordingly depending on how big your fennel bulbs are. Slice bulbs as thin as possible using mandoline or food processor. Toss with lemon and olive oil; salt and pepper to taste. Chop fennel fronds and parsley and combine with salad. Serve with shaved cheese on top.

Lemongrass Artic Char on Fennel

Yeah, I know the picture's blurry, but this was really very good, and incredibly simple. We had it on its own as a light supper (I had a bit too much Cheeseboard pizza today-- tapenade and red pepper!) but you could pair it with potatoes for a complete meal. Thinly slice a fennel bulb, toss with olive oil, salt & pepper, and place in a baking dish in a 500 degree oven. When the fennel starts to brown slightly (about 10 minutes), add a filet of fish and turn down the oven to 275. We used arctic char, rubbed with olive oil, dark soy sauce, lemongrass and pepper. Cook until the fish is done-- about 10 minutes-- and serve.

Fennel and Corn Brown Rice Risotto

This makes a great vegetarian main dish or shellfish side (it'd be delicious with prawns, cooked separately, of course). Be sure to get the vegetables well caramelized; this makes the entire risotto deep brown and very flavorful.

You'll need (serves 3-4):

1c brown rice

4c chicken or vegetable broth

1 onion

1 large fennel bulb

1 ear of corn

8 mushrooms

1T olive oil

1T butter

1c vermouth

1/2c parmesan, grated

1/2c sharp cheddar, grated

Finely chop onion.

Melt butter and oil in large heavy skillet. Add onion.

While onion cooks, chop fennel bulb and add that too (reserve fronds). Remove corn from cob and add it as well, with some salt and pepper.

Clean mushrooms and chop them rougly. Once the veggies look golden brown, add mushrooms and cook 5 more minutes. 

Add rice (and more oil if necessary); stir and cook about 1 minute. 

Add vermouth slowly, scraping at the bottom of the pan (you should have a well-browned fond). Let cook until vermouth boils away.

Add broth slowly, stirring almost constantly, adding more when the mixture looks dry. Cook about 1 hour until rice is tender but not mushy.

Stir in cheese and fennel fronds and serve.

Fennel, Leek and Sausage Pasta

This is pretty quick to put together once you've gotten everything chopped & sliced. The French mise en place is one of my favorite cooking concepts-- get everything ready in those cute little prep bowls (except I don't really have any, so I make piles or use mugs), and then you're not pounding garlic at the last minute while the oils overheats.

You'll need (serves 4-6):

1 1/2 lbs pasta-- we used orecchiette (ear-shaped) and campanelle (bellflower-shaped)
1 large (28oz) can peeled tomatoes & their juices
3T tomato paste
1c half & half
1 very large leek (or 2 smaller ones)
5 shallots (or 1 onion)
6 cloves garlic
2 large bulbs fennel (2 lbs)
1/2c sun dried tomatoes
5 uncooked sausage links (about 1.3 lbs)
1c grated parmesan, and more for serving
2T fresh marjoram, chopped, plus some for serving
1T cumin
1t red pepper flakes
2t dried oregano
1/2t cayenne
1t fennel seeds, toasted

Boil salted water for the pasta.

Clean your leeks by slicing them through the root, lengthwise, almost to the dark green top. Then turn and slice again, so the leek is split into quarters but held together at the top. Wash well and shake dry. Slice off root and discard; then slice thinly. Stop at the dry dark green tops.

Slice shallots or onions and fennel. You don't need to remove the fennel core-- just slice very thin.

Saute everything in 1T butter + 2T olive oil, salt & pepper, until brown and caramelized.

In the meantime, slice garlic & sun dried tomatoes. Add them to the pan when ready, with all the dried herbs & spices. Saute until fragrant (about 3 minutes), then push everything to the sides of the pan and add the tomato paste to the middle. Let brown a bit (2 minutes), then stir together.

Push to the sides again. Squeeze the sausage out of its casing into the middle of the pan (if you're using a low-fat sausage like turkey or chicken, add some oil first). Add marjoram and more cumin if you want. Saute, breaking up sausage, until brown. Stir together.

This would be a good time to put the pasta on.

Add tomatoes in their juices and break them up with the back of a wooden spoon. Stir to combine everything and cook until liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Then add half-and-half (or cream!) and stir together; simmer until cream thickens and the whole thing starts looking like a sauce. Then add grated parmesan, stirring to combine.

Mix pasta with sauce; add a sprinkle of marjoram for color, and serve with more parmesan.