a fennel weekend

regular readers of this blog will know of my love for fennel, both the fresh bulb with its mild aniseed flavour and fennel seeds that have a more intense and heady aniseed aroma and taste, almost verging on liquorice.  The fresh bulb works wonders in a multitude of savoury dishes such as this simple but stunning, memory-evoking fennel risotto or this warming and punchy curried fennel and carrot soup whilst the fennel seeds work in both savoury and sweet dishes, in a sort of miracle-of-wonders salted-caramel kind of vibe, the liquorice sweetness kicks in and is divine in these fennel and walnut dark chocolate brownies or gives us an exotic kick in this moroccan rose, fennel and chocolate cake.  I think it’s a bit of an unsung hero of the vegetable world and yes, I realise that aniseed as a taste can be polarising but sliced ultra-thinly in a layered beetroot and fennel salad with a sharp lemony sauce… it’s a taste of Mediterranean heaven on a plate!  It also holds a special place in my heart – if a vegetable can do such a thing – because it reminds me of a beautiful summer in France when The Viking and I spent a week with my Aunt and Uncle in their lovely home.  My uncle James taught me how to make the fennel and pea risotto mentioned above and it was such a simple, rustic and natural meal, in a beautiful home with beautiful people with a taste combination i’d never really experienced before that it has stayed in my food memory bank indelibly and will always remind me of that lovely holiday… and that risotto is now one of my top 5 comfort food recipes, to make and to eat!

this weekend, with the weather a little overcast and muggy I am taking things slowly… the doors are wide open to the green lush garden that is in stunning full bloom and i’m gently pottering around the kitchen and in the mood for a fennel-fest. Both dishes seem to me to be very natural and rustic and a celebration of the classic taste of fennel.

lemon thyme and fennel focaccia

this is a lovely focaccia recipe and uses the best of the freshest herbs in the garden… I love the combination of the citrus hit of the lemon thyme with the mellow groove of fennel.  I’ve pan-fried some finely sliced fennel bulb with some fennel seeds to add a deeper nutty topping to the bread.  Extra-Virgin Olive Oil features heavily here and so try and get the best oil you can afford. Sainsbury’s do a stunning Toscano EVOO as part of their Taste The Difference range which at £6:50 is a pretty good price for such quality.  I also think that your flour choice makes a big difference when it comes to classic and rustic loaves.  Whilst any old strong white bread flour will be perfectly fine, if you want something a little special then why not try the exceptionally good range of flours from Aldi’s Specially Selected range.  I can’t find a link to them and I’ve noticed they only have them occasionally so if you happen to be passing do check our their incredible range, they do a classic 00 italian flour which would be perfect for this.

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 320 ml water
• 1 teaspoons easy bake yeast
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 100ml extra virgin olive oil
• half a fennel bulb – finely sliced
• 3 teaspoons fennel seeds
• a handful of fresh lemon thyme
• plenty of sea salt or kosher salt flakes

start by very gently pan-frying the finely sliced fennel and 1 teaspoon fennel seeds in plenty of butter over a low heat until soft and just starting to brown – should take 8 minutes – set aside

I use my smeg stand mixer to knead the dough as I find it’s hassle free and turns out a perfect dough but if you don’t have one then knead as normal on a floured surface for 10 mins… place the flour, yeast and salt into the bowl of your stand mixer and using the dough hook, begin to knead on low as you put in the water and 80 mil of the olive oil, let it all come together and let it do its magic kneading for 10 mins

stop the machine, pull the dough out and quickly oil the bowl with more olive oil then place the dough back in, cover in cling film and set aside to rise for at least an hour or until doubled in size

oil your surface and remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down and scatter over some more fennel seeds, fold it over itself and punch down again, turn one quarter, fold and punch, repeat twice more and set aside

sprinkle some olive oil into a large baking tray and spread around with your hands, now place the dough into the baking tray and push it out to the edges… it won’t fully cooperate but play with it quite freely and it will stretch, then set aside for 30 mins and during this time it will fill the tray and rise a little

oil your finger and push regular indents into the dough, then take a small sprig of time and place it into each hole

bake on 200C for 20 mins or until it starts to turn golden then remove from the oven and generously drizzle the top of the focaccia with more olive oil and then sprinkle with salt… you can be as generous as you like here, I like it very salty

set aside to cool for a few moments before tearing apart with your teeth

pernod roasted fennel and potato

this is a great side-dih for eating with your favourite protein – it works particularly well with barbecued salmon or a roast chicken but I also think it works well as a stand-alone main with a salad and some of your favourite cheese… there’s really nothing to it other than slowly roasting the vegetables in oil and a little pernod but it’s a taste sensation well worth sharing…

• 1 and a half bulb of fresh fennel – cut into wedges
• 5 or 6 small new potatoes – thickly sliced
• a few stalks of cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• a dash of pernod
• fresh herbs – I used oregano and thyme and some chives
• a dash of balsamic vinegar

pre-heat the oven to 180C

place the potatoes and fennel into a roasting tin, add the oil, dash of pernod and herbs and toss around… roast for half an hour until the potatoes are golden and the fennel is beginning to blacken

take out of the oven, lay the tomatoes on top, drizzle over a little balsamic vinegar and then roast again for 15 mins until it’s all tender

eat and of course, enjoy!