BRAISED FENNEL
Fennel is fairly new to me. Or maybe I should say it is new to me. I had it a few times just recently in a restaurant, and it was Ah-mazing. At my last grocery trip, I spied some on the shelf and it immediately ended up in my basket. We are trying to eat as healthy as possible, and that means lots of veggies and fruits in our diet. I wish my boys were eating more vegetables, though – I only hope that showing them a good example with we eating lots of veggies will pay off one day.
Fennel.
Fennel is only flavorful but has many health benefits too. Fennel has been used around the world for several health issues like anemia, heart disease, blood pressure problems and many more. So if you haven’t cooked this awesome veggie yet, it is time to start adding it to your diet.
I even think that fennel is pretty:-)
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 red onion sliced lengthwise
- 5 garlic cloves ( I love garlic, you can use only 3 )
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- Cut the tops off the fennel bulbs. Slice the fennel bulbs in half, lengthwise, through the core. Slice each half lengthwise into quarters (you should get eight pieces total out of each fennel bulb), leaving some of the core attached, so the pieces don’t fall apart as they cook.
- Heat olive oil -high heat and add garlic to the pan.Saute for a minute.Add sliced onion then fennel pieces in the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the fennel pieces, without moving them, for at least 2 minutes. Sprinkle the salt and sugar over the fennel. Check for browning, and cook for another minute or two if they’re not browned yet. Turn the fennel pieces over and brown the other side.
- When both sides of the fennel are nicely browned, add the stock and orange juice to pan.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat down to low, cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the lid, increase the heat to high and let the stock cook down until it is a glaze.
- Serve immediately.
In less than 30 minutes, fennel can be cooked to perfection!
I actually couldn’t stop eating it, and I could not stop Aw-ing how fantastic it is. So did my hub. Now I am brainstorming a party excuse so I can invite some friends for dinner:-)
Perfect side dish with chicken, pork or fish or it could also be used as an appetizer.
Pin it for later to remember for it!
Will you give it a try? Let me know how you like it!
You may also like this great
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Have a fun rest of your day!
Cheers-
I ate fennel, since I was a kid. I came from Argentina,. There is very cheap,and we used to eat in a salad. It’s delicious, cut it in small pieces, add salt, balsamic vinager and olive oil. That’s it! Enjoy it!
I’ve never had fennel and I think it is because I have clue what to do with it! It is one of those vegetables that just seems too unique to bring home! Your pictures make me want to try this recipe, though. Loving that cutting board that you’ve got, too!