Roasted Fennel

 recipe courtesy of Simplyrecipes.com

Ingredients

-2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise in 1-inch thick pieces
-Olive oil
-Balsamic vinegar

Directions  

-Preheat oven to 400°F.  

 -Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. 

 -Line baking dish with Silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out the pieces of fennel and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.

Cumin Roasted Fennel & Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

1 large fennel bulb

1 TBS. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

sea salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

1. Wash and cut cauliflower into florets. Wash and cut fennel into quarters. If you are unfamiliar in working with fennel, watch this helpful and quick video, now.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine all of your ingredients. Toss together with your hands until each piece of cauliflower and fennel is coated well with the spices and olive oil.

3. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. Once it is cooked about half way through flip it to its other side and continue to roast until each side is golden brown.

Serves: 4-6

Total time: 50 minutes

LIVING SIMPLY GLUTEN FREE

Cabbage and Apple Casserole

This recipe was submitted by CSA shareholder Jamie, from Wilmington, DE, from one of her favorite cookbooks - The Vegetarian Cookbook, edited Nicola Graimes and published in June of 2007.

Cabbage and Apple Casserole
Ingredients

1½ pounds red or green cabbage

3 onions, chopped

2 fennel bulbs, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons caraway seeds

3 large tart eating apples or 1 large cooking apple (Jamie prefers granny smith apples)

1¼ cups plain yogurt

1 tablespoon creamed horseradish

salt and pepper

crusty rye bread to serve

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 300 degrees.

2. Shred cabbage, discard tough stalks. Mix with onions, fennel and caraway seeds in a large bowl Peel core and chop the apples and add to cabbage mix. Transfer to a casserole dish and set aside.

3. Mix the yogurt with the creamed horseradish. Stir the yogurt and horseradish mixture into the casserole, season with salt and pepper and tightly cover.

4. Bake for 1½ hours, stirring once or twice during cooking.

5. Serve with rye bread.

Double-Fennel Pork Chops

One more Fine Cooking favorite for the day - this one is adapted from the October 2008 issue. Author Lori Longbotham writes, "There's a reason why fennel pairs so well with everything from pork and fish to apples. It's sweet anise flavor elevates everything around it and fills the kitchen with a smell you just can't beat. In this dish, both fennel seed and sautéed fresh fennel bring big flavor to simple pork chops." Enjoy!

Double-Fennel Pork Chops
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 teaspoon fennel seed
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1-inch-thick center-cut bone-in pork loin chops, trimmed
1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and cut into ¼-inch-thick strips
⅜ cup chicken broth
1½ tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions
1. Lightly crush the fennel seed in a mortar and pestle or with the bottom of a small skillet. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in salt and pepper. Season the pork chops with the spice mixture.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a 12-inch skillet. Stir in the fresh fennel, two thirds of the broth, and the remaining spice mixture. Cover the skillet, increase the heat to medium high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fennel begins to soften and brown, 8 to 10 minutes (reduce the heat if the fennel browns too quickly).
3. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium, and add the remaining broth and 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Cook, stirring frequently and scraping up any browned bits, until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper, and transfer to a medium bowl.
4. Wipe out the pan, add the oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the pork chops and cook, turning once with tongs, until well browned and cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. (To check for doneness, make a small cut near the bone and look inside.the pork should still have a hint of pinkness.) Serve the pork chops with the fennel.

Meatballs with Fresh Fennel and Orange

The following recipe is adapted from Lidia’s Family Table, by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich, published in 2004.

Meatballs with Fresh Fennel and Orange
About 3 Dozen 2-Inch Meatballs

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
1 bulb fennel, minced
2 fat garlic cloves, minced
¾ teaspoon salt
1 package ground beef, ground turkey, or pork sausage
3 eggs, well beaten with a pinch of salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons orange zest
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 heaping cup dry breadcrumbs
flour
vegetable oil
tomato-based pasta sauce

Directions
Heat olive oil, onion, and fennel in a pan over medium heat. Once they begin to sizzle, add garlic and half of the salt and cook until the vegetables are slightly wilted. Once cool, mix together vegetables, meat, eggs, parsley, remaining salt, pepper, orange zest, thyme leaves, and bread crumbs. Shape the mixture into 2-inch balls, and roll in flour until coated. Set a skillet on high heat and add vegetable oil to a depth of at least ⅓ inch. Cook meatballs (turning continuously) until golden-crusted on all sides. In the meantime, begin to heat pasta sauce. Meatballs will finish cooking in the sauce.

Caramelized Fennel and Onion

A CSA member from Rutledge, PA highly recommends this recipe from a February 2010 article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, titled "A Winning Dinner Party."

Caramelized Fennel and Onion
Ingredients:
2 fennel bulbs
1 to 3 tablespoons of butter
1 medium onion, sliced in thin rings
1 tablespoon sugar (simple syrup of brown sugar may be substituted)
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Directions:

1. Wash and trim the fennel. Cut off the stalks and root end.

2. Cut bulbs in half and discard any tough outer layers. Slice as you would an onion, making thin rings.

3. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion. Stir to spread butter. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally until the fennel softens, about 10 minutes.

4. Add the sugar and salt. Stir as it cooks another 10 or even 20 minutes, until the fennel and onions are a bit brown and tender. The longer and slower over low heat, the better the caramelization.