Blue Cheese Baked Fennel Recipes

ROASTED FENNEL WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Lightly oil the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange the fennel in the dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then with the Parmesan. Drizzle with the oil. Bake until the fennel is fork-tender and the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Chop enough fennel fronds to equal 2 teaspoons, then sprinkle over the roasted fennel and serve.

VEGETABLE GRATIN WITH BLUE CHEESE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven, prepare the baking dish Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Layer the vegetables Grease a large (2 quart) gratin dish or a 9-x-13-inch glass baking dish with butter. Layer half of the parsnips in the gratin dish, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper. Top with half of the carrots, and season with another pinch of salt and grind of black pepper. Scatter half of the fennel mixture on top of the carrots. Repeat with the rest of the parsnips and carrots, finishing with the remaining fennel mixture. Set aside.
• Begin the béchamel You'll need two sauce pans, one small and one medium. In a small sauce pan set over medium-low heat, add the milk and cream. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add the butter. When the butter foams, whisk the flour into the melted butter, and cook until nutty smelling and light golden in color, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and add the cheese Remove the béchamel from the heat and whisk in the blue cheese a few crumbles at a time. Season the sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and a pinch of cayenne, if you want a little heat. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if desired.
• Cover and bake Snugly cover the gratin with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the gratin is golden brown and bubbly, and the vegetables are tender when pierced with a knife.
• Serve Let rest 20 minutes before serving.

BAKED FENNEL WITH PARMESAN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Cut the base off of the fennel bulbs, and cut a cone shape into the base to remove the core. You can see the core because it is whiter than the surrounding green. This is optional, but helps the fennel cook faster. Slice the fennel vertically (upright) into 1/4 inch thick slices.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel, and fry for about 5 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and creme fraiche until well blended. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
• Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and the fennel is tender enough to pierce with a fork.

BLUE CHEESE BAKED FENNEL

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
• Trim the green tops of the fennel bulbs and cut the bulbs in half.
• Use a little of the oil to grease a baking dish. Arrange the bulbs in the dish, with the flat sides uppermost.
• Use a pastry brush (or clean fingers!) to "baste" the fennel with the remaining oil. This will stop it from burning during roasting.
• Mix the seeds together and grind well.
• Crumble the cheese and mix with the seeds. It will form a kind of paste.
• Smooth ¼ of the paste on top of each fennel half.
• Roast for 30 minutes, until the fennel has softened and the topping is starting to go brown.

FENNEL WITH BLUE CHEESE AND BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• Cut fennel into about 1/4-inch-thick slices, and cook in the boiling water until just tender, less than 5 minutes. Drain, and layer in a shallow baking dish. (You can also drain the fennel, then stop its cooking by plunging it into ice water, then drain again. In this manner you can finish the cooking up to a day or two later; increase the baking time to 20 minutes.)
• Top fennel with bread crumbs, then cheese; season all with a grating of pepper (hold off on salt, because the cheese is salty). Place in oven until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.
• Run baking dish under broiler until top browns, checking every 30 seconds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

FENNEL, APPLE AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook on medium heat until fragrant and translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Add the fennel, fennel seed, 1 tablespoon of the rosemary, apple, salt, black pepper, honey, vinegar, and apple brandy. Cook on medium heat until the apple and fennel are browned, about 15 minutes. Fennel should be soft but not mushy and still have some firmness. Remove the filling from heat and cool to room temperature. Toss in the blue cheese and the crispy bacon.
• Line a baking sheet with a heavy sheet of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil, making sure the sheet is long enough to wrap up over the ends of the roast. Layer another two sheets of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil over the first one. Set aside.
• Place the pork loin fat side down on a work surface, season the inside lightly with salt and pepper and then evenly spread the filling. Roll the pork up lengthwise and tie it securely with kitchen twine. Rub with remaining olive oil and season evenly with kosher salt. Heat a large heavy skillet (big enough to hold the entire loin) over high heat until very hot. Add the pork loin and brown very well on all sides, about 1 minute per side.
• Using tongs, place the roast in the center of the foil. Sprinkle with pepper and the rest of the rosemary. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
• Bake the wrapped loin for 45 minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer reads 130 degrees F. Let the pork rest, wrapped, for 10 minutes. Open packet carefully by cutting along top fold with a sharp knife, allowing steam to escape; then open top of foil packet. Slice and serve.

BAKED FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Clean the fennel, removing the upper fronds, and slice lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.
• Set the feathery leaves aside to garnish the completed dish.
• Place in a saucepan and cover with milk.
• Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the fennel can be easily pierced with a fork.
• Remove the fennel and pat dry.
• Layer in a baking dish, drizzle with two tablespoons of the oil and add salt and pepper.
• Bake for about 20 minutes.
• Mix the remaining oil with the cheese and breadcrumbs, and sprinkle over the dish and continue baking until golden brown.
• This dish is great hot or at room temperature.
• Use the discarded feathery fronds to garnish, and serve.

FENNEL WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Trim fennel and quarter.
• Cook in boiling water about 15 minutes, just until tender.
• Drain and turn into shallow baking dish which has been buttered with two tablespoons of the butter. Dot with remaining butter and sprinkle with cheese and pepper.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is golden.

BAKED FENNEL

Steps:

• To prepare the fennel, cut off the upper stems close to the bulb and trim off the bottoms. If small bulbs are available, cut each trimmed bulb in half lengthwise. If small bulbs are not available, cut each lengthwise into quarters.
• As the fennel bulbs are trimmed and cut, drop them into a basin of cold water.
• Bring a large quantity of water to the boil in a saucepan and add salt to taste.
• Drain the fennel and add the pieces to the boiling water.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Let the fennnel cook about 10 minutes, until almost tender. Drain. Pat dry, using a clean linen towel or paper toweling. If the centers of each piece of fennel are tough or woody, carefully trim away and discard the tough part.
• Arrange the fennel pieces in one layer in a baking dish, cut-side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and the olive oil.
• Place the dish in the oven and bake 20 minutes.