Caramelised fennel and fig pizza
Sweetness – roast fennel and moist fig – offset by the savoury crumble of baked feta on a nutty buckwheat crust. You can prepare the dough in advance and refrigerate it overnight.
The Vibrant Table by Anya Kassoff (RoostBooks)
Makes 2 medium pizzas
360ml purified water
¾ tbsp salt
2½ tbsp coconut sugar or other sweetener, divided
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
420g buckwheat flour, plus more for dusting
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
5 tbsp olive oil
For the topping
2 large fennel bulbs, sliced into 6mm thick slices, green fronds reserved
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
14 to 16 ripe figs
30-60g feta cheese to taste preferably goat's milk and/or sheep's milk feta, shredded or crumbled
1 Preheat the oven to 210C/415F/gas mark 6½. First, prepare the fennel. Brush both sides of the fennel slices with oil. Lay them on a parchment-covered baking tray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes, turning every 10-15 minutes, until softened.
2 To make the dough, combine the water, salt, and 1½ tbsp of coconut sugar in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add the vinegar and shake lightly.
3 Sift 200g of the flour into a large bowl, then add the bicarbonate of soda, 4 tbsp of olive oil, and the remaining sugar. Gradually add two-thirds of the sugar, salt and vinegar mix, stirring to combine. The dough will be quite liquid at this point.
4 Start sifting more flour into the bowl, 25g at a time, mixing it in with a wooden spoon as you go. It is important to add the flour just a little at a time; if not, it may become too stiff, which will be hard to fix, even by adding moreliquid. When the dough is no longer too sticky to be kneaded by hand. Dust your hands and the surface of the dough with flour and knead quickly for 2 minutes. The dough should be very soft and may still be slightly sticky at this stage.
5 Divide the dough in half and shape each piece into a ball. Put each ball on to the centre of a piece of cling film and flatten into a disk with the palm of your hand. Cover with more cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
6 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Dust a rolling pin with a little flour. Roll each piece of dough on a separate piece of parchment paper into a 6mm thick circle. Brush with oil. Bake for 10 minutes, one crust at a time.
7 Remove from the oven and top with the fennel, then the figs and cheese. Make sure that you cover the dough completely with topping, or it will dry and harden. Bake for another 12 minutes, one pizza at a time. Topwith the fennel fronds and other greens and some black pepper. Let cool slightly beforeslicing.
Orange and fennel salad
We love the unadulterated freshness of this salad – a plateful of citrus and crisp green dotted with salty roast olives. Delicious as an accompaniment to meat dishes and oilyfish.
Sicily by Pamela Sheldon Johns (Silver Spoon Kitchen series, Phaidon)
Serves 8
8 oranges, peeled, pith removed, cut into rounds
3–4 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, fronds reserved
100g roasted olives
For the dressing
5 tbsp olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon, strained
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
Salt and black pepper
1 Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a bowl, then season to taste. Put the orange rounds into a separate bowl. Add the fennel and olives. Drizzle with dressing, and serve.
Crispy fried fennel with saffron aioli
Frying fennel keeps its natural flavour and juices, while adding a rich and welcome crispiness. This is a delectable nibble to serveat a dinner party.
Recipe by Ben Tish
Serves 4-6 as a snack
1 large head of fennel or 2 smaller heads, trimmed, core removed, finely sliced lengthways
220g plain flour, sifted
50g cornflour, sifted
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
375ml cold water
1 litre olive oil, for frying
½ tsp toasted fennel seeds, crushed
Salt and lemon, for seasoning
For the aioli
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
½ garlic clove, peeled, very finely chopped
100ml vegetable oil
100ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt and black pepper
Lemon juice, to taste
White wine vinegar, to taste
A pinch of saffron, soaked in a little warm water
1 To make the aioli, whisk the yolk with the mustard and garlic, slowly adding the oils. As they incorporate into the yolk, you can speed up. When all the oil has been added, season and add lemon juice and vinegar to taste. Whisk in the saffron and water. Set aside.
2 Add the flours and bicarbonate of soda to a bowl and whisk in the water to form a fairly loose tempura-style batter – it should coat the back of a spoon. Leave for 20 minutes to rest.
3 Heat the oil in a fryer or tall-sided pan to 180C/350F. In batches, dip the fennel into the batter, then carefully fry for 2-3 minutes until crisp and golden. Remove each batch, drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt, crushed fennel seeds and a squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately, nice and hot, with the aioli.
Florentine fennel with parmesan
Simplicity itself – a scattering of cheese, crumbs and butter is all you need. This recipe serves as an excellent reminder that good veg often requires little else.
On Vegetables, by Elizabeth David (Quadrille)
Serves 4-6
4 large fennel bulbs, trimmed, outer leaves picked
Butter, for greasing, plus a little extra
4 tbsp breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated parmesan
1 Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Slice the bulbs in half lengthways. Plunge them into a saucepan of boiling salted water and cook for 7-10 minutes. When tender to the point of a skewer, drain them.
2 Arrange the fennel halves, cut-side down, in a buttered gratin dish or individual dishes. Strew the breadcrumbs over them, then the grated parmesan, and finally dot with the knobs of butter. Put the gratin dish in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the cheese and breadcrumbs are pale gold and bubbling.
Fennel blossom ice-cream
Fennel is the perfect accent to full-bodied creamy richness – it makes a lovely pud when served with really ripe peaches ornectarines.
Bread Cake Doughnut Pudding, by Justin Gellatly (Penguin/Fig Tree)
Makes about 1 litre
375ml whole milk
450ml double cream
1 vanilla pod
6 tbsp fennel blossom/fennel fronds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
, crushed
5 egg yolks
150g caster sugar
2 tbsp pastis
A pinch of salt
Ice, for chilling
1 Pour the milk and cream into a heavy-based saucepan. Split the vanilla pods lengthways and scrape out the seeds, then add both pods and seeds to the pan. Add the fennel blossom/fronds and the fennel seeds.
2 On a medium heat, slowly bring the mix toagentle simmer and keep simmering for 3minutes, to draw the oils out of the vanilla.
3 Meanwhile, put your egg yolks and sugar into a large bowl and mix together.
4 After 3 minutes' simmering, turn up the heat under the milk and bring to the boil. Pour this into the egg yolks, whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling.
5 Pour back into the saucepan and cook the custard on a low heat, stirring all the time, until it can coat the back of a spoon. This will take about 10 minutes. Do not allow the custard to boil or you will end up with scrambled eggs.
6 Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl, discarding the vanilla pods, and add the Pernod and a pinch of salt. Then chill in an ice bath, made by filling a larger bowl one-third full with ice and water, Stir occasionally to stop a skin forming. When it's cold, lay a piece of clingfilm directly on the surface of the custard and chill until completely cold, or churn straight away in your ice-cream machine. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions, then transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until solid.
7 Before serving, take it out of the freezer for about 10-15 minutes to allow it to soften.
Fennel seed praline
A sprinkling of this fragrant crunchy topping will add a bright texture to any creamy pudding, hot oriced.
Elliot's Cafe, elliotscafe.com
Makes about 400g
160g sugar
40ml water
15g fennel seeds
240g blanched almonds
1 Simmer the sugar, water and fennel seeds together until it reaches 116C. Add the almonds and stir over a medium heat till the sugar and seeds crystallise round the nuts.
2 Continue cooking until it turns a light caramel colour and the seeds have becomenicely toasted.
3 Spread across a baking tray to completely cool, then blitz finely in a food processor.
Galette au fenouil
Taking the inherent sweetness of the fennel to a whole new level, this recipe uses whole bulbs simmered in fennel-seed syrup and baked in all-butter puff pastry for a decadent, herbaceous dessert.
On Baking, by Mark Hix (Quadrille)
Serves 4
200g ready-made all-butter puff pastry
Plain flour, for dusting
1kg fennel, fronds trimmed
300g caster sugar
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp dill or fennel fronds, finely chopped
Icing sugar, for dusting
200g creme fraiche
1 Roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick on a floured surface. Cut into four 13cm discs and prick with a fork. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
2 Meanwhile, prepare the topping. Put the fennel into a saucepan with the sugar and seeds. Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the fennel is soft to the point of a knife. Remove the bulbs from the syrup, setting both aside. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6.
3 Put the pastry on a baking tray and cover with a wire rack, to stop them rising while cooking. Bake for 7 minutes, then flip them and cook for a further 4 minutes with the rack back in place. Remove from the oven and set aside.
4 Strain 500ml syrup through a fine-meshed sieve into a clean pan. Bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and cook until it has reduced to around 4-5 tbsp in volume. Let it cool a little, then add the chopped fennel fern or dill.
5 Cut the fennel bulbs lengthways into 5mm slices. Arrange the slices on the pastry discs in a circular pattern, ensuring it goes all the way to the edges. Dust with icing sugar and bake for 7–8 minutes until golden (cover with foil if they colour too rapidly). Serve with the syrup and a dollop of creme fraiche.
Chicken with garlic and fennel
Full of spices, herbs and aromatics, this is a simple, heartwarming plate of savoury chicken and fennel, melting in a rich tomato sauce
My Favourite Ingredients, by Skye Gyngell (Quadrille)
Serves 4
1 chicken (about 1.4kg) jointed into 8 pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
1 dried red chilli
1 tsp saffron threads
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed and outer leaves removed
250ml white wine
2 x 340g jars (or tinned) peeled plum tomatoes
Pared zest of 1 orange
3 bay leaves
5 thyme sprigs
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (optional)
Salt and black pepper
1 Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole (large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably) over a medium heat. When hot, brown the chicken in batches, turning golden and pleasing to the eye. Then set aside. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of fat from the casserole.
2 In a separate pan, gently warm the fennel and coriander seeds until they release their fragrance, then grind in a pestle and mortar.
3 Add the onions to the casserole and cook over a low heat for about 5 minutes, until sweet and translucent. Crumble over the chilli and add the ground seeds, saffron and garlic. Season with a good pinch of salt and a little pepper, and stir well to combine. Cut the fennel bulb into quarters and add to the pan.
4 Add the wine, raise the heat a little and reduce for a minute or so. Add the tomatoes. Return the chicken to the pan, then add the zest and herbs. Reduce the heat and put the lid on the casserole. Cook gently for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is almost falling from the bone. Adjust the seasoning.
Pickled fennel
A condiment that draws attention to the delicate flavours at work in this pretty plant, and is best served with fish or pork. Add chopped dill to highlight the hints of aniseed.
Salt Sugar Smoke, by Diana Henry (MitchellBeazley)
Makes 1 litre
1 tbsp salt
1kg small fennel bulbs
800ml cider vinegar
1½ tbsp white, black and pink peppercorns
100g granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 tsp fennel seeds
Olive oil, to seal
1 Add the salt to a pan of water and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, cut and reserve any leafy fronds from the fennel, remove the outer leaves and trim the tops. Cut lengthways into 2-3mm thick slices. Blanch for 30 seconds – no more, you need to work fast – and remove with a slotted spoon. Rinse under cold water over, then thoroughly pat dry.
2 Add the rest of the ingredients, except the oil, to a pan and slowly bring to a boil, stirring to help the sugar dissolve.
3 Pack the fennel into a warm sterilized jar, putting any fronds among the slices. Pour the vinegar solution and spices over. Cover with oil. Seal with a vinegar-proof lid and use within a year. Refrigerate once opened.
Braised fennel and celeriac with pastis
For this dish, allow a minimum of one large fennel bulb per person.
The Vegetarian Option, by Simon Hopkinson (Quadrille)
Serves 2
2-3 tbsp olive oil
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut into 8 lengthways
1 medium celeriac, peeled and cut into chips
Salt and black pepper
50g butter
2-3 tbsp pastis
100ml white wine
Juice of 1 small lemon
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 Set the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Heat the oil in a lidded, ovenproof cooking pot over a low-medium flame. Add the fennel and celeriac, season and turn them in the oil until lightly gilded – about 15 minutes or so.
2 Add the butter and allow to froth, then turn down the heat. Season and add the pastis and wine. Spoon these juices over the veg, add the lemon juice and bubble gently. Cover put in the oven for 1 hour, until soft and meltingly tender. Stir in the parsley and serve directly from the pot.
