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This month's recipes include Intro The cultivated fennel bulb is available in New Zealand from April through to July - the seeds are sown in spring and harvested in autumn. Florence Fennel is becoming more prolific in the food markets and when I saw a box of the bulbs for sale for a respectable $7.95 a kilo, I grabbed a couple to do some recipe experiments. Then I went back for more. Choose bulbs with a good shoot of fern coming out the top. You will need this for flavour and garnish. Many of the bulbs were flat, which I guess means they were not very developed. I found these good for braising, as they tended to cook more evenly. Fennel has a delicate 'anise' flavour - I love this flavour and will eat fennel bulbs raw - in small quantities. Must be a hangover from childhood - I just loved those aniseed balls. Sauvignon Blanc's zingy herbaceousness matches well to fennel, as well as to other herbs such as basil and coriander. Try these recipes with a new season's Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Fennel preparation Fennel Braised in Sauvignon Blanc Split the fennel bulb in half - from the root end to the shoot and the fern end - cutting equally through the shoots to make mirror images (see image above). In a frying pan heat a couple of tablespoons of garlic oil (olive oil that has had whole peeled garlic cloves infusing in it) and add slices of chopped fresh garlic to lightly saute. After about 30 seconds add about 1 teaspoon of whole fennel seeds and the fennel halves, cut side down. Saute for a couple of minutes then turn and saute the other side for a couple of minutes longer. Add more oil if the pan gets too hot and dry. Turn the fennel bulb so the cut side is down again and pour in 1/2 cup of fresh, zingy, herbaceous sauvignon blanc. Lower element, cover pan and braise the bulbs in the sauvignon blanc for about 10 minutes - perhaps longer if you have biggish bulbous bulbs, perhaps less if the bulbs are very small, flat and tender. Turn and cook the other side for the same length of time and also add some fennel fern at this point. Do not let the pan get too hot, as the liquid will evaporate. If this happens turn the element down and add a little more Sauvignon Blanc. Serve cut side up. The fennel would have lost its vibrant green colour, so decorate with additional fresh fennel fern saved from the bit coming out of the top. Whole Baked Fennel Bulb You will need: 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil. Cut off the growing ends to about 1-2 inches above the bulb. Remove any feather fern bits. Clean up the root end of the bulb, cutting it level across the bottom so the bulb will sit upright in a dish. Make criss-cross cuts into the root end with a sharp knife to aid cooking. Pour the oil into a small baking dish - I used a 16cm ceramic handled frypan. Stand the bulb in the oil. Cover the bulb by enclosing the dish with silver paper. Pop into a pre-heated oven and cook at about 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, halve and serve. Fennel, Bok Choy and Coriander Rice You will need: 1 or 2 mini bok choy (or Shangai bok choy as it is sometimes called ) 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) 1 cup pre-cooked rice Garlic infused olive oil for cooking Sauvignon Blanc for cooking and drinking Prepare the fennel bulb, removing the strings from the outer leaves and also remove any hardened leaves. Cut the fennel across the bulb (across the grain) into strips, starting at the root end - this will make oval rings. Heat some garlic-flavoured olive oil in a pan and add the fennel strips to stir-fry. Meanwhile, cut the mini bok choys across the white stem into strips and chop the coriander. When the fennel is starting to soften, add the bok choy and stir-fry for a couple of minutes. These take hardly any time to cook so after a couple of minutes add the chopped coriander and stir-fry together for about 30 seconds. Now add the cup of cooked rice and 1/2 cup of sauvignon blanc. As the liquid evaporates add a little more until the rice is well heated and combined. I used boiled Abororio rice to give a risotto-like appearance without the hard work of making a risotto. If you wanted you could prepare the rice as a risotto (with onion and sauvignon blanc), preparing the fennel, bok choy and coriander stir-fry in a separate pan and combining everything together for the last few minutes of cooking. Serve the rice topped with a fillet of with pan-fried white-fleshed fish, such as gurnard or terakihi. Easy Pan Fried Fish ********** Another exciting way to use the fennel bulb is to stuff it. Prepare the bulb as for the above recipes, removing the strings and scraping off any hard bits. Halve across the widest part. Use the largest outer leaf as the container and the incorporate the rest of the bulb in the stuffing. I didn't actually get around to a making a stuffing, though I did make these two warm fennel salads. They could be piled into the outer fennel leaf for serving, or just use small Chinese bowls for individual presentation. Warm Fennel, Apple and Pumpkin Seed Salad ![]() Fennel, Bacon and Oyster Mushroom Stir Fry Fennel and Carrot Soup 3 carrots 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp grapeseed oil 2 tsp chicken stock 6-8 cups of water salt and pepper to taste Whipped cream or Crème Fraiche Cut off the fern and reserve half for the garnish, the other half will be chopped to add to the soup. Remove the stringy bits from the fennel bulb then dice the bulb, as you would an onion. Peel and grate the carrots. Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan. Add the fennel seeds and sizzle for 30 seconds then add the diced fennel bulb. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add the grated carrot and stir to get most of the carrot over the heat in the base of the saucepan while cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Add the chopped fennel fern. Sprinkle over the chicken stock and stir some more, then add the water and some freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until cooked. Test for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to your taste. Ladle the soup into plate. If you want you could add a dollop of cream and garnish with wispy fennel fern - but the soup is so deliciously sweet on its own it doesn't really need the cream or extra fern to enhance the flavour. ********** For a useful Fennel information page, go to www.vegetables.co.nz Kia pai te kai © Sue Courtney |
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