Fennel on The Recipe Loghttps://therecipelog.com/tags/fennel/Recent content in Fennel on The Recipe LogHugo -- gohugo.ioen-usThu, 17 Jul 2025 01:22:30 +0000Summer Ragùhttps://therecipelog.com/recipes/summer-ragu/Thu, 17 Jul 2025 01:22:30 +0000https://therecipelog.com/recipes/summer-ragu/This was a great discovery from Jessica Filby of Canteen, in London. It’s a lighter but still incredibly flavorful ragù that’s perfect for summer, including a cook low and slow in the oven.

This was a great discovery from Jessica Filby of Canteen, in London. It’s a lighter but still incredibly flavorful ragù that’s perfect for summer, including a cook low and slow in the oven.

This can work with many pasta shapes. It would be great with fresh tagliatelle. The source recipe calls for rigatoni, or (my personal preference) mezze maniche.

Budget around 100 g of dried pasta for a main or 50 g to serve this as a starter.

Ingredients

  • Olive oil
  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely diced
  • 1 small bulb fennel, finely diced
  • 80 g pancetta, cut into very small cubes
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 sage leaves
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • Peel of 1 lemon
  • Peel of 1 small orange
  • 600 g ground pork
  • 300 g white wine
  • 400 g whole milk
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt

Method

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, add a thin film of olive oil. Then add the onion, celery, fennel, and pancetta. Sweat down the aromatics and pancetta until the vegetables are very soft.

Then add the garlic, herbs, and citrus peel. Continue the cooking until the garlic is fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

Decant the vegetables into a small bowl. Then add a new film of olive oil to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the pork. Cook the pork until it’s all nicely browned.

Preheat an oven to 150 °C (300 °F)

Deglaze the pan with the wine, and scrape the bottom of the pan clean. Then add the reserved vegetables back to the pan along with the milk and bay leaves. Bring everything to a gentle simmer.

Then cover the pan and transfer it to the oven. Let the sauce simmer for about 2 hours.

To serve, loosen and emulsify the sauce with cooking water from the pasta. Finish the pasta with black pepper and Parmesan.

]]>Sicilian-style Fish Stewhttps://therecipelog.com/recipes/sicilian-style-fish-stew/Sat, 27 Nov 2021 21:52:15 +0000https://therecipelog.com/recipes/sicilian-style-fish-stew/As with most good fish stews, you can use just about any fish and shellfish. Though I would avoid anything too delicate, because it will fall apart and be difficult to serve.

As with most good fish stews, you can use just about any fish and shellfish. Though I would avoid anything too delicate, because it will fall apart and be difficult to serve.

While I suppose you could blanch and peel fresh tomatoes here, I tend to use a high-quality canned variety. The hard work is already done for you, and they’re almost certainly better than whatever “fresh” tomatoes you can find. And if you do get really amazing in-season tomatoes, I think there are better ways to use them.

I would steer clear of pre-diced tomatoes, however counterintuitive. Producers will often add something like calcium chloride to tinned tomatoes to help them retain firmness, and they’ll add more to help the smaller pieces in pre-diced tomatoes hold their shape.

This makes enough for about two people.

Ingredients

For the fish stock

  • Assorted fish bones
  • 3 small sprigs thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 clove garlic
  • Water

For the stew

  • Olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, slivered
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed
  • 400 g can plum tomatoes
  • Salt
  • 200 g (200 mL) white wine
  • 400 g firm fish, cut into individual portions
  • 200 g assorted shellfish (e.g., mussels, clams, langoustines)
  • Mint, roughly chopped

Method

For the fish stock

Combine all the ingredients together in a stock pot, and cover everything with water. Bring everything to a bare simmer and let the mixture cook for 2-3 hours, until it’s flavorful.

For the stew

In a medium cocotte or Dutch oven, heat a film of olive oil over medium heat until the oil is loose and just begins to shimmer. Then add the garlic and fennel and coriander seeds and cook everything until it’s just fragrant.

Then add the tomatoes (including the sauce from the tin) and a healthy pinch of salt. Using a spoon, break up the tomatoes to make a sauce. Let the tomatoes reduce slightly, 20 to 30 minutes. Then add the wine and bring everything back up to a bare simmer.

Season the fish to taste with salt. Add the fish and shellfish with a ladle of the fish stock, covering the pot, and sequencing the additions of the fish and shellfish to avoid overcooking anything.

Transfer the finished stew to a serving dish, and top it with a drizzle of good olive oil and the chopped mint.

]]>Fennel Olive Saladhttps://therecipelog.com/recipes/fennel-olive-salad/Wed, 21 Jul 2021 01:29:11 +0000https://therecipelog.com/recipes/fennel-olive-salad/Ingredients 1 large fennel bulb 50 g pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped 30 g extra virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper Zest of a lemon Juice of half a lemon Coarse salt Method Using a mandoline, thinly slice the fennel.

Ingredients

  • 1 large fennel bulb
  • 50 g pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
  • 30 g extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
  • Zest of a lemon
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Coarse salt

Method

Using a mandoline, thinly slice the fennel. It should yield something like 100 to 150 grams of shaved fennel.

Toss the fennel with the olives, lemon, olive oil, and Aleppo pepper. Add lemon juice and salt to taste.

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