Fennel is high up on my list of favorite vegetables to cook with. If you've never worked if it before or don't know much about it, I am here to help! It is a great ingredient to buy in between the months October through April where it is most likely to be the best quality.
Fennel is a plant closely related to carrots and celery but with an unmatched flavor. Fresh and uncooked fennel is slightly earthy with a licorice-like taste and crunchy texture. Cooked fennel becomes silky and softer with a similar flavor to caramelized onions but with hints of anise making the fennel a little extra special.
Fennel is also another source of medicine from nature, with one cup of fennel known to contain about 20 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin C that helps your immune system health, repairs skin tissues, helps form collagen, and reduce the chance of heart disease. It is also incredible for digestion.
If you have some time on your hands, I recommend looking up the history of fennel and all the fascinating ways in ancient times it has been used to cure the body and fix objects used in daily tasks.
A super power ingredient to add to your food knowledge!
Ingredients
Fennel - I used 3 bulbs
Walnuts - about 1/3 of a cup
Garlic - as many as you want, I say the more the better!
Breadcrumbs - about 1/3 of a cup
Orange - zest and juice of one
Parmesan - about 1/3 of a cup
Olive oil - as needed
Vegetable or Chicken Broth - about a 1/2 cup
Paprika and Salt - as needed
Method
Diagonally cut the fennel bulbs into about thirds or fourths depending on the size. Pan-sear the flat side of your cut fennel pieces for 5-10 minutes until nicely browned. Transfer the seared fennel into a baking dish and cover halfway up with your broth. Roast in the oven for about 50 minutes.
While the fennel is in the oven, combine the breadcrumbs, orange zest and juice, parmesan, and olive oil together.
Almost all of the liquid should be soaked up and the fennel should be super tender when finished in the oven. Transfer onto a serving plate and cover with the breadcrumb mixture and garlic confit.
This step is optional, but I saved the fennel fronds to fry as an additional garnish on top.
I am so excited about this series of produce forward home recipes, even if you do not follow these guidelines extremely close, I hope you get inspired to try a new ingredient and technique of cooking!
I am allergic to oranges but the rest of it sounds good.