Braised Fennel With White Wine And Parmesan Cooks Illustrated Recipes

BRAISED FENNEL WITH BUTTER AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3.
• Melt the butter in a casserole dish over a low heat. Place the fennel into the butter cut-side down, and scatter around the trimmings. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and increase the heat.
• Add the vermouth and pastis. Cover with a sheet of foil loosely pressed down on the vegetables, and put the lid on top. Place into the oven to cook for 30 minutes.
• Remove the dish from the oven and turn over the fennel. Return to the oven and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until very tender when poked with a small, sharp knife.
• Preheat the grill to high.
• Remove the fennel from the dish. Place in a warmed shallow oven-proof dish cut-side up, cover with foil and place in the oven while you make the sauce.
• Pour the trimmings and cooking juices through a fine sieve suspended over a small pan. Warm through and add 45g/1½oz of the parmesan. Blend with a hand blender until smooth and creamy (about the consistency of pouring cream).
• Pour the mixture over the fennel and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Place under the grill and cook until the surface is pale golden-brown and slightly bubbling around the edges.
• Serve with extra parmesan for sprinkling over.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the fennel in a large, shallow baking dish and pour in the chicken broth. Cover the dish with foil and bake until the fennel is very tender, about 2 hours.
• Preheat the broiler. Drain the liquid off of the fennel and place in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until reduced to a syrup consistency, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the olive oil. Season the fennel with pepper and brush with the broth mixture. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and broil until browned, about 2 minutes. Divide among 4 plates and serve.

POT-ROASTED PORK IN WHITE WINE WITH GARLIC, FENNEL, AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• With 2 or 3 bits of string, tie up your pork loin, do this any way you like. It doesn't have to be fussy, you just want to keep the meat in a snug shape while it's cooking. Season generously with salt and pepper, then roll the meat in the fennel seeds until covered.
• In a casserole pan or roasting tray, fry the meat for a couple of minutes in half the butter and a little olive oil, until nice and golden.
• Throw in the garlic, herbs, fennel, and wine, then cover the tray loosely with some wet greaseproof paper and cook until an inserted meat thermometer reaches 150 degrees F. As the pork loin is off the bone it cooks very quickly. Remove from the oven and allow the meat to rest on a plate. Then, without using any more heat, finish off your sauce in the pan, scraping any goodness off the bottom and adding the rest of the butter. Remove any large bits.

WINE ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Season the flour with salt and pepper, then mix together in a shallow bowl. Lightly dust both sides of the chicken with the flour, shaking off any excess.
• Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken skin-side down and cook until the skin is golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook on the other side until golden brown, about 4 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.
• Add the mushrooms, shallot and fennel to the skillet and cook just until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the excess dredging flour and stir well. Add the white wine, chicken broth, garlic, rosemary, thyme and lemon juice, then bring to a simmer, scraping the bottom of the skillet. Add the chicken back to the skillet skin-side up and place in the oven. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
• Serve with Pistachio Pesto Pasta if desired and garnish with basil leaves, lemon zest and lemon slices.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package directions.
• While the pasta is cooking, make the pistachio pesto. Combine the pistachios, basil, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and juice and some salt and pepper in a food processor and process until well combined.
• Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta. Toss the pasta with the pistachio sauce, thinning with the pasta water for the desired consistency if necessary. Serve with more Parmesan and basil leaves.

BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut off and discard stalks from fennel bulbs, reserving fronds. Chop 1 tablespoon fronds and discard remainder. Cut bulbs lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, leaving core intact.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown fennel slices well, turning over once, 3 to 4 minutes total.
• Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle fennel with salt and pepper, then add broth and water. Cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds.

BRAISED FENNEL AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add fennel and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and edges are brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add beans, stock, chopped oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar and butter; remove from heat. Garnish with oregano leaves.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH WHITE BEAN PURéE

Steps:

• Prepare the bean purée: Add the beans, 2 1/2 cups Parmesan broth, garlic, salt and white pepper to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to an active simmer and cook 20 minutes, until there is only about 1/4 inch of broth covering the beans. Let cool slightly, then transfer to a blender and purée until smooth, creamy and spoonable. Set aside and cover to keep warm.
• Prepare the braised fennel: Slice the fennel in half lengthwise, and cut each half lengthwise into 3 equal wedges. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted, add the fennel wedges in a single layer, cut-side down. Sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook on the opposite cut side for 3 to 5 minutes. (If your fennel doesn't all fit in the pan, cook the remaining pieces with the shallots in the next step. Do not crowd the pan.) Transfer the cooked fennel to a plate.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook the shallots on their flat side for 2 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until they have a nice sear. Lower the heat if it starts to smoke.
• Return the fennel to the pan, season with kosher salt, sage and red-pepper flakes. Add 1 cup Parmesan broth, cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice and being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, until the vegetables are just tender but cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.
• Divide the bean purée among shallow bowls, spreading it in an even layer, and season with another crack of white pepper. Top with braised vegetables and spoon the sauce over top. Garnish with tender fennel fronds and serve.

MUSSELS WITH CREAM, FENNEL, AND WHITE WINE

Steps:

• Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped fennel, shallots, garlic and fennel seeds. Sauté until fennel is tender, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cream and boil until liquid thickens, about 10 minutes. Add mussels. Cover and cook until mussels open, about 5 minutes. Divide mussels among 6 shallow bowls (discard any mussels that do not open). Ladle broth over and serve.

LAMB SHANK BRAISED IN WHITE WINE WITH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a large frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add shanks to hot pan, and brown all sides; this should take about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, and add garlic to the pan; cook for 30 to 40 seconds. Stir in onion, and continue cooking until translucent, 6 to 8 minutes. Return shanks to the pan, and season with 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary and salt and pepper to taste. Pour in wine, raise heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover tightly, and simmer until the shanks are very tender when pierced with a knife, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Turn once or twice during cooking, and add water as necessary to maintain original level of liquid. Serve shanks garnished with rosemary sprigs.

FENNEL IN WINE AND HONEY

Steps:

• Place the fennel quarters in large deep skillet with the centers facing up. Drizzle with olive oil then pour in the chicken broth, honey, and wine. Season with mustard seed, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes, turning occasionally.