fennel recipes

Here's a collection of fennel recipes from our weekly newsletters, and some lovely ones you've sent in. If you'd like more please have a look at our recipe index! To find out about our fennel producer and order yours click here.

Cauliflower and Fennel with Coriander Vinaigrette
Fennel and Orange Salad
Potato and Fennel Bake
Tagliatelle with Fennel
Fennel and Leek Risotto
Fennel Gratin
Fennel with Blood Orange and Grated Courgette

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Cauliflower and Fennel with Coriander Vinaigrette

1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
1 small head of fennel, sliced
4 large lettuce leaves, shredded
25 g creamed coconut
110 ml olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir the olive oil into the vinegar and season with the salt and pepper. Next add the coriander seeds and fresh coriander and then leave to marinate for an hour. Meanwhile, place the coconut in a saucepan and pour a pint of boiling water over the top. Stir until dissolved. Add the cauliflower florets and fennel and simmer for around 4 minutes. Drain and then leave to cool. Just before serving, dress with the vinaigrette and arrange on the lettuce leaves.

Fennel and Orange Salad

2 large oranges
1 bulb fennel
1 small onion (preferably red)
50 g rocket leaves
15 g pitted black olives
1 sun dried tomato in oil, drained
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Make the dressing first. Roughly chop the olives and the sun-dried tomato. Place in a food processor with the garlic, parsley and 1 tablepooon of the oil. Blend to a fairly smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and whisk the remaining oil, vinegar and seasoning to taste. Peel the oranges, removing the white pith. Cut into segments between the membranes- do this over a bowl to catch the juices to add to the dressing. Place the segments in a large bowl. Discard the tough outer layer of the fennel, then slice very thinly. Finely slice the onion. Toss the fennel, onion and rocket leave together with the oranges. Pour over the dressing, toss again until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

Potato and Fennel Bake

4 large potatoes (or 6 small), scrubbed
1 bulb Fennel
2 gloves garlic, crushed
300 ml single cream
300 ml milk
1 egg
Butter, for greasing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Nutmeg

Preheat 190°C/ 375°F/ Gas Mark 5. Thinly slice the potatoes and fennel thinly. Butter a large baking dish and arrange the potato and fennel slices in alternative layers with the garlic and lots of seasoning in between. Mix the cream, milk, egg, nutmeg with lots of seasoning. Pour the mixture over the vegetables. Cover with foil and bake for about 1&1/2 hours, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes until brown on top.

Tagliatelle with Fennel

2 heads fennel, trimmed and quartered
1/2 kg (1 lb) tagliatelle
2 tablespoons olive oil
Grated parmesan
Parsley

Cook the chunks of Fennel in salty water. Once they are tender, drain them out and slice them up. Keep the slices warm by keeping them a covered bowl. In the fennel water, cook the Tagliatelle until soft. Drain the pasta, and mix in the olive oil and fennel pieces. To serve, sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and the parsley. You may also like to add the discarded fennel leaves for extra taste. Delicious!

Fennel and Leek Risotto

1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium leek, white part only, thinly sliced and washed
1 medium fennel bulb, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced
325 g arborio (risotto) rice
120 ml white wine
2 tbsp chopped parsley
grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Pour the stock into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and hold over low heat. Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the leeks, a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until the leeks are wilted. Add the fennel and garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Begin adding the stock a cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb each cup of stock completely before adding more. Keep the pan on medium heat and continue to stir. When the rice has absorbed half the stock, add the wine. Continue adding stock, stirring constantly, until you have used most of the stock. As you stir in the last bit of stock, add a pinch of salt and a few pinches of pepper. The risotto should be quite saucy. Stir in the parsley, serve in warm bowls, and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Fennel Gratin

This is a lovely side dish for the chicken mushroom pies below. Serves 4

2 large or 3 small fennel bulbs
50g butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
75g Parmesan, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Trim the fennel, then cut each bulb lengthways into 1cm thick pieces. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the fennel and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and leave until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, melt the butter and add the garlic. Arrange the fennel in a shallow, ovenproof dish , large enough to take it in a single layer. Season with pepper, pour over the garlic butter, and sprinkle over the Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden. Serve hot.

Fennel with Blood Orange and Grated Courgette

This combo is quite addictive, and it's absolutely stunning served with grilled or pan-fried fish. Healthy, quick and easy – you've got to love it! Serves 1-2 as a light main or 4 as a side dish.

1 medium-sized fennel
2 blood oranges
½ large or 1 small courgette
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp of a good extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp almond slivers, lightly toasted

First, slice the fennel into thin (1/2 - 1 cm) panels. Then roughly cut each into large bite-sized pieces (about 2inx1in). Place in a salad/mixing bowl.

Cut the top and bottom off the oranges. Stand on a cutting board and cut the skin off in panels, working your way around the orange. Squeeze the juice from the flesh embedded in the skin over the fennel.

Then, cut the segments out of the orange (leaving behind the pithy bits and the opaque papery skin) over the bowl, dropping them on top of the fennel. This allows extra juice to drip over the fennel, and this acts as an instant salad dressing! Squeeze the remaining orange over the salad and discard.

Grate 1/2 a courgette straight into the bowl, using a medium sized grating - i.e. you don't want it grated finely like Parmesan. Add a pinch of sea salt, a grinding of black pepper and a splash of olive oil.

Toss and add in a handful or two of cooled, toasted almond slivers. Serve or chill for up to 2 hours (though, if you’re making in advance wait to add the almonds until right before serving!).