finocchio

caramelized fennel

Finocchio

caramelized fennel

When raw, fennel has a mild but distinctive licorice taste. It's wonderful shaved in salads...if you like that sort of thing. (I like that sort of thing.)

When cooked, especially when it's slowly caramelized and then braised in stock until very tender, it becomes sweet and mellow. This is a lovely vegetable side for just about any meal, enjoyed by people who swore they didn't like licorice.

Tonight, I'm making this dish as part of a culinary foray into medieval Italy. Finocchio was just as popular in those days as it is today.

Ingredients:

  • 2 fennel bulbs

  • 3 large cloves of garlic

  • good olive oil as needed

  • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock

  • some fresh rosemary, chopped

  • kosher salt and pepper

Method:

First, let's prep our ingredients...

Every part of this vegetable can be used. We're just going to treat each of them slightly differently. Using a sharp knife, cut the fennel into 3 sections—the fronds, the stems, and the bulbs.

  • Slice off the hard bottom of the root end of the fennel bulbs. Trim away any brown/dry bits. You may want to thinly shave the outside layer of the bulb with a vegetable peeler, depending upon how fresh it looks.

  • Slice the bulbs lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.

  • Slice the stems into thin rounds and chop the fronds. Keep all three parts separate.

  • Thinly slice the garlic cloves.

  • Pour a glug of olive oil into a large skillet. Heat the oil until it begins to shimmer, but don't let it smoke. Lay the slices of fennel bulb in the skillet, in a single layer. Sprinkle them lightly with salt. If they don't all fit at one time, do this in batches. Lower the heat to medium/low and let the fennel cook, undisturbed, until it's nicely caramelized. Don’t rush the process. Low and slow will give you the beautiful results you see in the photo.

  • Then, turn the slices and do the same on the other side. When all the fennel slices are nicely browned, set them aside.

  • Add a little more oil to the pan if needed, and slowly sauté the stem rounds with the garlic slices until they're caramelized as well.

  • Return the slices of bulb to the pan—it's ok to layer them now. Scatter the chopped rosemary over all. Pour in the stock, turn the heat to low, and cover the pan tightly.

  • Let the fennel simmer for 15 minutes, or until it's fork tender. Then remove the cover and allow the liquid to cook off. Keep a careful eye on the pan and don't let it burn.

  • As soon as the pan is almost dry, remove it from the heat. Arrange the fennel on a serving dish and scatter some chopped fronds over all as garnish.