Recipe: Michael Ruhlman's Braised Fennel

BRAISED FENNEL

FENNEL IS A DELICIOUS AND, IN MY OPINION, UNDERUSED vegetable. Its flavor is delicate but distinctive, and it pairs perfectly with all lean white fish, especially the more assertive freshwater varieties such as trout and walleye. It would also go nicely with salmon, or a mild red meat such as veal. My favorite way to cook fennel is to braise it. It was indeed the first veg­etable I braised in Chef Michael Pardus’s class at culinary school.

Like the cabbage on page 85, the fennel is cut so that it has a broad surface area for maximum browning—quartered but with the root end still attached to hold the fennel together. Here I use water and white wine for the braising liq­uid, but you could also use vegetable stock, chicken stock, or fish stock, depend­ing on what you intend to serve it with. You can even use plain water, but it’s a good idea to add some onion, carrot, and a bay leaf to enhance the flavors (in effect, creating a vegetable stock while you’re cooking the fennel). The liquid can be used as is, fairly thin (though the flour may thicken it somewhat), or it can be fully thickened with some beurre manié. It can also be enriched by whisking butter into the simmering sauce, as in the following recipe.

I like to finish the fennel with chopped fresh tarragon, whose licorice notes match those of the fennel, making this an all-purpose side dish. You can also garnish with fresh fennel fronds, which presumably were still attached when you bought the fennel. Again, make your choices according to what you’re serving it with.

• 2 fennel bulbs, tops removed, quartered lengthwise, core retained
• Kosher salt
• Flour
• Vegetable oil
• ½ cup/120 milliliters dry white wine
• ½ cup/120 milliliters water
• 2 bay leaves
• Beurre manié (optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper

SERVES 4

To Make This Dish into a Main Course

ADD some minced garlic to the pan after the fennel is browned, and then ADD ½ cup/120 milliliters dry white wine and 2 or 3 cans of clams and their liquid, along with plenty of freshly ground black pepper and a small bunch of fresh thyme tied with string. BRAISE as instructed below, and FINISH by whisking in ¼ cup/60 grams but­ter. SERVE the fennel topped with the clam sauce and chopped fennel fronds.

Recipes reprinted courtesy of Little, Brown and Company Copyright © 2015 by Ruhlman Enterprises, Inc.