Foil Braised Fennel, Balsamic Oil Dressing

The vegetable fennel is seldom seen on the everyday tables of family homes in this country,. Viewed as an unusual vegetable that is 'expensive' and requires a lot of 'work', it is largely thought to be the preserve of posh restaurants, when really nothing could be farther from the truth.

Fennel is a delicious, easy to cook and economical vegetable. A head of fennel will cost the same as a head of broccoli, or it does in my local market, and portion wise a fennel will yield pretty much the same.
With having a very distinctive taste similar to aniseed, I always think it a cross between celery and licorice in flavour. Maybe licorice is not everyone's cup of tea, but I find when the fennel is cooked the intensity of the aniseed flavour is lessened giving a much milder flavor.

Fennel has a multitude of uses; the feathery tops can be chopped and added to sauces that go perfectly well with fish and chicken, the crisp white body called the 'bulb' can be eaten sliced raw into a salad, boiled like any other vegetable, oven roasted, braised, char grilled on an electric grill or the bar-be-que, used to liven up what might otherwise be a bland soup such as parsnip or white turnip, and even has it's place in a vegetable bake without overpowering the other vegetables used.
Fennel seeds and are a usual addition to Indian and Pakistani cooking. They are aromatic and spicy and a great way to enjoy them easily is to fry them in a little butter and toss in some cooked white or red cabbage which will absorb those aniseed flavors delightfully.

Recently I have become a touch obsessed with cooking vegetables 'au naturel' as in, adding as little as possible to the actual vegetable and allowing the natural aromas to shine through.

I find cooking vegetables quite slowly completely enclosed in foil with just a little seasoning and maybe a knob of butter or a dribble of olive oil added, brings out a whole new flavour and improves our ability to taste what nature has given us.

This method of cooking works especially well with root vegetables such as leeks, onions, shallots, parsnips, and of course....our friend the fennel.

• To braise the fennel, line a deep roasting tin or even a cake tin with some tin foil. The tin should have a deep edge to it so we can fold the tin foil over and form a tight seal with another layer of tin foil which will be the lid.
• Trim any brown bits and any feathery fronds from the bulb, you can keep these fronds in a little water to use for a sauce or to add to some foil baked fish. The fronds should last a good 2 -3 days in the refrigerator.
• Slice the fennel bulb into about 4 -5 slices and lay flat on the tin foil base
• Season with a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper, add a couple pieces of butter if you like
• Cover with another sheet of tin foil and secure tightly all around the edges, we don't want any of the cooking steam to escape and dry out our fennel
• Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160oC for approx 50 mins. The fennel will be cooked but will still have a slight bite to it.

When serving I like to drizzle the fennel with a balsamic oil, which is really just a good extra virgin olive oil with a little aged balsamic vinegar added, I mix 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil, add a touch of sea salt if you must but remember the fennel is already seasoned. The balsamic seems to draw out even more the natural flavour of the fennel.

Braised fennel goes well with salmon, which you could also bake in foil, and why not, sure isn't the oven on! Just add a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice and seal in a tin foil parcel. A salmon darne weighing about 120 g will take about 20-30 minutes to cook like this.

You can enjoy the cooked fennel not merely as a side dish but as a meal in its own right,
When the fennel is cooked remove the foil lid and crumble over some blue cheese on it's own or with some chopped whole almonds or cashew nuts, return to the heat of the oven or place under a hot grill until melted......enjoy!