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vegetable - fennel, tomato

t=teaspoon T=tablespoon

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You can slice the fennel in rounds or lengthwise - I prefer lengthwise unless called for otherwise. Some cooks remove most of the inner core and the tougher outer layer. Me, I usually pare away a little of the core and eat it as is. It is delicious and serves as a little 'cook's privilege'. The outer layer I usually chop coarsely across the grain as this layer is a little tougher and 'thready' like celery. Either add it to the dish or to a salad.

Fennel with Tomato

The delicate liquorice flavour of this versatile vegetable is a delightful change and is an easy vegetable to prepare. It has a special affinity for seafood, though I have served it with chicken breast.

serves 2 well

preheat oven to 200°

1 fennel (+- 500 g.)

3 medium tomatoes (+- 350 g.)

1 sm. onion

1 garlic clove

1 T. butter

1 t. tomato puree

2-3 T. bread crumbs

30 g. fresh parmesan, grated

2 T. cream plus a little more for topping

salt

pepper, freshly ground

Cut off any green top and save the fine, feathery leaves to garnish a salad or fish. Remove and discard the tougher, outer layer. Slice across in thin rings, about half a centimetre and set aside. Peel the tomatoes and chop.

Melt the butter and sauté the finely chopped onion for a minute before adding the flattened garlic clove. Sauté further until golden. Sprinkle with a little water if necessary to prevent burning.

Remove the garlic*. Add the fennel, enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and cook/steam for 10 minutes, adding more water as necessary. Stir in the tomato puree, chopped tomato and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes.

Stir in the cream and place in a small, shallow baking dish. Mix the parmesan with the bread crumbs and enough cream to barely moisten. Distribute over the fennel and bake for 15 minutes or until golden (mixture will resemble coarse crumbs).

Note: *You may leave it in, however, if my seafood dish has garlic, I remove it after sautéing with the onion. Otherwise, I like to mash the cooked clove in with the bread crumbs and parmesan for the topping.

Tip: evaporated milk is also wonderful with this and cuts the calories substantially.

A rosé or white wine is best with this. In fact, if you prefer, use a little wine in place of the water in the recipe! More about fennel in the Food Focus page.

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