Fennel And Peas With Vermouth Recipes

BAKED FENNEL WITH VERMOUTH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Remove any discolored parts of the fennel, then cut the tops off and slice finely, reserving the leaves.
• I normally slice each fennel from the top to the root, into about 4 pieces, but its not that important.
• You can slice them finer and more delicately if you like.
• Literally throw all the ingredients except the reserved leaves into a baking dish.
• Rip off a piece of parchment paper, run it under cold water and scrunch it up to make it soft.
• Then place it snugly over and around the fennel, not the actual dish.
• This bakes and steams the fennel at the same time--basically making it really tasty!
• Cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until tender.
• Scatter with the fennel leaves before serving.

WHITE BEAN STEW WITH CARROTS, FENNEL AND PEAS

Steps:

• Put beans in a heavy-bottomed pot along with clove-studded onion, bay leaf and rosemary. Add cold water to cover by about 2 inches, cover the pot, and place over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer, with lid ajar. Check beans occasionally and add water as necessary to keep liquid 1 inch above beans.
• After 40 minutes, add 2 teaspoons salt, carefully stirring with a wooden spoon to avoid smashing beans. Continue cooking until beans are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours total. (Some beans cook more quickly, so begin checking after 1 hour.) Let beans cool in cooking liquid. You may cook beans to this point several hours or up to a day in advance.
• Heat olive oil in a wide deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add diced onions, celery, carrots and fennel, season generously with salt and pepper, then add fennel seed, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook mixture until softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally; lower heat if necessary to keep vegetables from browning. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, if using yellow carrots, simmer them in a saucepan of well-salted water. When carrots are cooked through but firm, about 5 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon and spread on a platter to cool.
• Simmer peas in a saucepan of well-salted water for about 2 minutes. (If you cooked yellow carrots, you can use the same saucepan and water to simmer peas.) Drain and add peas to diced vegetable mixture.
• To assemble dish, return the skillet with the vegetables to the stove over medium high heat. Add drained white beans, reserving the bean cooking liquid. Cook, stirring, until heated through, about 5 minutes, gradually adding enough cooking liquid to keep mixture a bit soupy, 1 cup or so. Taste and adjust for salt. Add cooked yellow carrots, and let them heat through.
• Transfer stew to a deep platter or wide serving bowl. Mix together parsley, mint, lemon zest and chile and sprinkle over the top. Garnish with halved eggs, lightly salted, and drizzle everything with 2 tablespoons tasty extra-virgin olive oil.

ROMAN-STYLE BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• In a 12-inch high-sided skillet, melt butter over medium. Add shallots, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add oil and garlic, and stir until fragrant, 1 minute. Add fennel, wine, lemon juice, oregano, parsley and 1½ cups of water, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high, stirring to evenly coat the fennel in the liquid. Arrange the fennel in an even layer.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium and braise until fennel is tender, about 30 minutes, stirring and flipping halfway through.
• Transfer fennel to a serving platter, and spoon over the shallots and sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley, and serve warm or at room temperature.