MEETING THE FENNEL CHALLENGE!
Sharing Fennel Recipes. This section has recipes from members and friends. We are delighted with the response to the fennel challenge.
Canadian Living Website.
As explained last week, I found a good website to start our journey with fennel. It has an introductory page which talks about which part, how to store, how to cook, etc. We tried Chicken Braised with Lemon, Fennel and Garlic/ and Fennel, Apple, Grape salad. If you were at Monday pick-up, you know Mike raved about these dishes. I think he tried to hide the left overs on lower shelves of fridge. They were good and we will definitely make them again, after we try a few other recipes. I chose the recipe for the Fennel, Green Bean, Mushroom Salad for Saroya and Jessica to make while we were at drop-off on Monday. Saroya is a vegetarian and Jessica is vegan. The dish was on the table when we got home. Both women said they tasted it, although it seemed untouched. Mike is not particularly fond of mushrooms, so he ate very little. Rather than try to push it again, I decided it would make a good stir. On Monday, l cut mushroom and beans into smaller pieces, stir fry sizes, added a hand full of shelled fava beans, some more fresh dill and garlic, oil and soy and served with rice. We will definitely make the stir fry version again.
FENNEL RECIPES FROM MORE SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
“Hi Mike and Melba,
The bag tonight was so exciting! What a great bounty this summer.
Here are the recipes I mentioned this evening. How was your fennel and fava bean dish?
Nicholas and I have been fans of the British chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall for a few years now. He has a homestead and business called River Cottage – lots of good shows to look up on Youtube. His most recent book is called Veg, which we bought at Chapters 3 weeks ago. Many of the veg he uses seem to be specialties of the Organic Farm.
Our favourite recipe is the Swiss chard and new potato curry:
http://www.rivercottage.net/recipes/chard-new-potato-curry/
Another one is Fennel and Goat Cheese Salad, from the same book:
2 large or 3 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed (chop and reserve fronds)
1/2 lemon
2 or 3 tablespoons canola or extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 1 oz/30g soft goat cheese
Remove and discard the tough outer layer of the fennel bulbs (unless they are young and fresh)
Cut the bulbs in half vertically
Using a sharp knife, slice fennel as finely as you can from tip to root
Put fennel into a large bowl, squeeze over the juice of the lemon half, trickle over the oil and add some salt and pepper
Toss everything together with your hands, then cover and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the fennel to macerate in its dressing
Taste and add more lemon, salt, pepper if you wish
Transfer to a serving dish, then crumble the cheese over the top.
Finish with a scattering of fennel fronds.
(Andrea)”
FAVA AND FENNEL SALAD.
Here’s a recipe for a salad that really suits the current Organic Farm bags!
It keeps nicely for a few days in the fridge. I would recommend making it at least a few hours before serving to let the flavors mix. (KJellrun)
2 – 3 lbs fava beans (1 1/2 – 2 c shelled beans)
salt
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thin
2 oz Parmesan cheese, sliced thin
10 fresh mint leaves, sliced thin (roll them into “cigars” to facilitate slicing)
2 green onions/ scallions sliced thin
olive oil
1 T lemon (or lime) juice
black pepper
Prepare the beans: remove from the pods and add to 2 qt. boiling salted water. Reduce heat and simmer till tender. Drain beans and plunge into ice water. When cooled, drain and remove peel. Combine beans, onions and fennel in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper and mix. Squeeze 1T lemon juice over the salad, add Parmesan and mint and toss. The recipe I found didn’t specify quantity of oil – I guess it’s up to personal taste. The recipe called for lemon, but I really like lime and it worked beautifully. I would use at least 2T, but, like the oil, I guess it’s up to your taste…”
From Michael and Carole. (Friends who spend a month in Italy each summer).
“One thing we have done is to make fennel vichyssoise, a dish we had in Paris. We don’t have a recipe. We either found a specific recipe, or adapted one, from the internet. Can’t remember which right now.
We also roast it, which is done the same as roasting almost any soft vegetable. I cut them into perhaps soup spoon size shell pieces (they are layered like an onion), coat them lightly in olive oil, sprinkle on a generous dash of pepper and roast them in the oven (at anything from 350 to about 425, depending on what else is being roasted and how fast I want them done). Alternately, you can prepare them the same way and do them on the BBQ in a barbeque wok, a simple gadget sold by places like Canadian Tire, for $10 or $12.
Jamie Oliver has a fennel, cherry tomato and squid salad in his Italian cookbook that is wonderful (although I use shrimp instead of squid as I don’t like the latter). Carole can copy the recipe for you (I’m not at home now) but you can actually use it in any salad. The key is to slice the fennel incredibly thin, which cuts the liquorice taste so it’s not overwhelming. You also chop the fronds and add them like any other herb. Hope this helps. Michael.”
Spring Salad with Fennel and Orange
Ingredients
Dressing
l/4 cup white sugar.
¼ cup red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped basil
3 tables spoons olive oil.
Salad.
1 ( 10) ounce ag mixed salad greens
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 orange, peeled and segmented
l/2 red onion, thinly sliced
l/2 cup silvered almonds
l/2 cup dried cranberries
Directions:
Whisk together the sugar, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, bail and olive oil in a small bowl until the sugar dissolves; set aside. Toss the salad greens, sliced fennel, orange, onion, almonds and cranberries in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and too to serve.
