Best Braised Fennel Recipes

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CARAMELIZED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim fennel bulbs, and set aside fronds. In a blender or food processor, pulse about 1/2 cup fronds, garlic, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt until finely chopped. Add 1/3 cup oil and purée.
• Halve fennel bulbs lengthwise. Slice thinly with a mandoline or very sharp knife.
• Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown chicken until skin is crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving drippings in pan.
• Stir fennel seeds into skillet and cook for 30 seconds. Add sliced fennel and onion, seasoning with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add Pernod and scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute.
• Lay chicken on top of the fennel-onion mixture. Pour 3 tablespoons water into the pan. Cover skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and cook off any excess liquid if necessary. Stir in lemon juice.
• Serve chicken and vegetables topped with generous dollops of the fennel frond purée.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH MEYER LEMON AND PARMESAN

Steps:

• Trim the fennel and roughly chop 1 tablespoon of the fronds. Halve each bulb through the core, then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add just enough oil to coat the pan. When hot, cook half the fennel, without moving, until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining fennel, adding more oil to the pan if needed.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the fennel, broth, lemon rind and juice and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Raise the heat to high and reduce the sauce until syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Fold the sauce and reserved fronds into the fennel and top with Parmesan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

BRAISED CHICKEN LEGS WITH GRAPES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°F. Season chicken legs all over with 3 tsp. salt.
• Swirl 1 Tbsp. oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot to coat and heat over medium-high. Place 2 chicken legs, skin side down, in pot, making sure skin is in direct contact with pan. Cook, undisturbed, until dark golden, about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook until golden on other side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large plate. Repeat with remaining 2 chicken legs; reserve pot.
• Meanwhile, working one at a time, stand a bulb, root end down, on a cutting board and slice off a short end to create a flat surface. Turn cut side down and slice ½" thick, starting from the top end of bulb so the root end can hold the layers in place while you slice. Discard last ¼" (root end) of each bulb and pop out and discard tougher center from slices. Transfer fennel to a large bowl and add half of the grapes, ½ tsp. salt, and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; toss to coat. Set aside.
• Reduce heat to medium and combine broth, honey, chile paste, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in reserved pot. Stir to combine and dissolve salt. Place remaining grapes in pot and arrange chicken legs, skin side up and overlapping if needed, over grapes. Top with dressed fennel and grapes. (Don't worry if it looks crowded: Fennel will soften as it cooks.)
• Transfer pot, uncovered, to oven and roast until fennel is slightly softened, with some crispy, caramelized edges, grapes on top are swollen and browned in spots, and chicken is cooked through, 30-40 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer grapes and fennel to a bowl and chicken to a platter. Place pot over medium-high heat and bring braising liquid to a simmer. Cook until reduced by half (you should have about 1 cup liquid), 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and fennel fronds.
• Spoon sauce over chicken and serve with fennel and grapes alongside.

OVEN-BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH FENNEL AND CASTELVETRANO OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat olive oil in a large, heavy cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and black pepper. Brown chicken in the hot oil, about 5 minutes per side. Meat will still be pink inside. Transfer chicken into a bowl, leaving drippings in skillet.
• Turn heat down to medium; cook fennel, onion, and fennel seeds in the hot oil, stirring occasionally, until onion and fennel begin to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Stir garlic, thyme, and chile de arbol pepper into fennel mixture. Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 more minute. Stir white wine into fennel mixture, scraping up and dissolving any browned bits of food on the bottom of the skillet.
• Pour tomatoes with puree into skillet and bring to a boil. Break tomatoes into large chunks with a wooden spoon; adjust salt and pepper. Add chicken thighs, any accumulated drippings from chicken, and olives to the skillet and stir to combine.
• Bake uncovered in the preheated oven until the chicken thighs are no longer pink inside, about 45 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with fennel greens, flat-leaf parsley, and lemon zest.

BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut the green stalks from the top of the white fennel bulbs and cut the brown, round stump from the base. Cut fronds from stalks. Chop the fronds and set aside 2 tablespoons for serving. Cut bulbs in half 4 times, making 8 wedges out of each.
• Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add fennel wedges, flat-side down, and brown for 3 minutes. Flip and cook for about 2 minutes more. Add garlic and thyme and cook for 30 seconds. Add wine and deglaze the pot, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Let wine reduce by half. Pour in chicken broth and orange juice.
• Reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer until fennel is very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Plate fennel. Sprinkle with salt and garnish with orange zest and fennel fronds.

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.

BRAISED FENNEL AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Cut potatoes into 1/4-inch slices and fennel into 1/4-inch wedges; reserve fronds. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high. Add fennel and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on both sides, 8 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until golden, about 3 minutes. Stir in broth, season with salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds and serve with lemon wedges.

BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut off and discard stalks from fennel bulbs, reserving fronds. Chop 1 tablespoon fronds and discard remainder. Cut bulbs lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, leaving core intact.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown fennel slices well, turning over once, 3 to 4 minutes total.
• Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle fennel with salt and pepper, then add broth and water. Cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds.

BRAISED CARROTS AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Slice the carrots 1/2-inch thick on an angle.
• Quarter the fennel bulbs lengthwise, cut into bulb to remove core and thinly slice, or roughly chop. Reserve 1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds.
• Halve and slice the onion. Fill a skillet with 1/4-inch water. Add vegetables then sprinkle with sugar and salt and drizzle with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Simmer covered 20 minutes, and uncovered for 5 minutes and adjust salt. Toss vegetables with fennel fronds, dill and chives.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH ONIONS AND PEPPERS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion, and bell pepper and saute 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to make sure all of the veggies get a chance to be on the bottom of the pan. At this stage, you will have a little bit of caramelization, but if you see too much browning your heat is probably too high.
• Place the fennel seeds on a cutting board and gently press on them with the back of a chef's knife or rolling pin. You want to lightly break the seeds to release their flavor but not break them to bits or powder. Add broth and next four ingredients (broth through garlic).
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in basil and fennel fronds.

BRAISED FENNEL AND WHITE BEANS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-high heat. Add fennel and onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and edges are brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add beans, stock, chopped oregano, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by about half, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in vinegar and butter; remove from heat. Garnish with oregano leaves.

BRAISED FISH WITH FENNEL, TOMATOES AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine first 5 ingredients in metal baking pan. Season fish with salt and pepper; place atop vegetables. Cover with foil. Bake until fish is just cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Using spatula, transfer fish to plate; cover with foil and keep warm. Place baking pan with vegetables atop stovetop burner; bring to boil. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Mix in lemon juice, oil and 1 tablespoon basil. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place one fish fillet on each of 4 plates. Top with vegetable mixture, dividing equally. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons basil and olives.

BRAISED FISH WITH FENNEL AND TOMATO

Steps:

• Prepare Braising Liquid:Pour the oil, wine, and water into a large (13-inch) skillet, then add the fennel, tomatoes, garlic, and lemon slices. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over moderate heat until the tomatoes begin to fall apart and the fennel softens, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Prepare Braising Liquid:Pour the oil, wine, and water into a large (13-inch) skillet, then add the fennel, tomatoes, garlic, and lemon slices. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over moderate heat until the tomatoes begin to fall apart and the fennel softens, 12 to 15 minutes.
• Braise Fish: Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and arrange fillets in the pan, partially submerging them in the sauce. Cover and simmer until fish is opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes (or 8 to 10 for thicker fillets).
• Serve:Spoon some of the braising sauce into a shallow bowl, then top with fish. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with pepper.

30-MINUTE COD WITH LEMONY BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim the tops and bottoms from the fennel bulbs, reserving a handful of the fronds for garnish. Quarter the bulbs. Set each quarter on its side and slice off most of the core. Cut the quarters into wedges about 1-inch thick (don't worry if some pieces fall off the wedge-use those too).
• Put 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Place over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the fennel and cook without stirring until fennel is brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Stir and let the fennel continue to cook until some more pieces brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper. Lower the heat to medium, cover the skillet, and cook 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the cod with salt and pepper and place on top of the fennel. Cover the pan again and simmer, adding more liquid occasionally if the pan is dry, until the fennel is very tender and the cod is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the reserved fennel fronds (you should have about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons) and remove the zest from the lemon. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until the breadcrumbs brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cool. Mix the fennel fronds and lemon zest into the breadcrumbs until combined.
• Juice the lemon. Roughly chop the olives.
• When the cod and fennel are done, stir in the lemon juice and the olives. Remove from the heat and let stand for about 1 minute to warm the olives. Transfer the fennel and cod to serving bowls and top the fish with the toasted breadcrumbs. Pour any remaining pan juices over the fennel.

GLAZED SEA SCALLOPS WITH BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut the fennel into quarters and steam it until it is just tender (about 15 minutes).
• Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy skillet and add the fennel. Sprinkle it with salt and pepper and cook it, stirring occasionally, until it is slightly browned on all sides.
• Soften the shallots and the garlic in the remaining olive oil in a large, heavy skillet. Saute the scallops in two batches over high heat, browning them lightly on both sides. Remove them to a warm bowl.
• Add the orange juice, balsamic vinegar and rosemary leaves. Scrape up the cooking juices and simmer them until you have a light glaze. Pour the sauce over the scallops and toss them. Correct seasoning and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS WITH CARAMELIZED FENNEL & LEEKS

Steps:

• Trim fennel bulbs, and set aside fronds. In a blender or food processor, pulse about 1/2 cup fronds, garlic, lemon zest and 1/4 teaspoon salt until finely chopped. Add 1/3 cup oil and purée.
• Halve fennel bulbs lengthwise. Slice thinly with a mandoline or very sharp knife.
• clean and thinly slice leaks.
• Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown chicken until skin is crisp, about 8 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate, leaving drippings in pan.
• Stir fennel seeds into skillet and cook for 30 seconds. Add the sliced fennel, leeks and onion, seasoning with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium and cook, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes. Add Pernod and scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the skillet; cook until liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute.
• Lay chicken on top of the fennel-onion mixture. Pour 3 tablespoons water into the pan. Cover skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Uncover and cook off any excess liquid if necessary. Stir in lemon juice.
• Serve chicken and vegetables topped with generous dollops of the fennel frond purée.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS WITH TOMATO AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season lamb all over with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge lamb in flour, turning to coat evenly; shake off excess. Heat oil and butter in an 8-quart Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat. Working in two batches, cook until shanks are well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer shanks to a large plate; drain off all but 2 tablespoons fat from the skillet.
• Place skillet over medium heat; add onions and leek, and saute until they are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic; cook 4 minutes more. Add red wine; deglaze pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Return shanks to skillet, and add chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil; cover, and place in oven. Braise 2 hours; add fennel, and cook 30 minutes.
• Using a slotted spatula, transfer shanks and vegetables to a large bowl. Cover; set aside. Using a ladle, skim fat from surface of cooking liquid; cook over medium heat until liquid is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Return shanks and vegetables to pan; cook until heated through. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper.

BRAISED SPRING ONIONS, FENNEL AND SWISS CHARD

Steps:

• Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Toss in the smashed garlic and crushed red pepper and bring the pan to a medium heat. When the garlic becomes golden brown and very aromatic, remove it from the pan and discard it. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the onions, fennel and Swiss chard stems, stir to coat with the oil and season with salt, to taste. Stir in the white wine and the lemon zest and juice. Cover and cook over medium heat until the veggies have become soft and wilted but still maintain some texture, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until most of the liquid has reduced, another 3 to 4 minutes. Toss in the Swiss chard leaves, stir to combine and season with salt, to taste. When the leaves have wilted but still look vibrantly green, taste for seasoning. Reseason if needed (it probably will). Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
• It's spring greens!

BRAISED FENNEL WITH LEMON

Steps:

• Trim the tops and bottoms from the fennel bulbs, reserving about 1/4 cup of the fronds. Halve the bulbs; cut out and discard the tough cores. Cut into 1-inch thick wedges.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the fennel and cook, stirring once, until the fennel is browned, about 7 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper. Lower the heat to medium, cover the skillet, and cook until the fennel is very tender, adding more liquid if needed, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, zest half the lemon and juice the whole lemon; chop the reserved fennel fronds.
• Remove the skillet from the heat and uncover. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Scatter the chopped fronds over the top.

BRAISED SQUID WITH FENNEL & TOMATOES

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium-high heat. Cook the fennel seeds, onion, fennel, chilli and preserved lemon with a pinch of salt for 5 mins until softened and fragrant, then add the garlic and cook for 1 min more.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and cook down for a few mins, then turn down the heat and add the squid. Cook gently for 3 mins, then add the wine and reduce by half. Add the stock and herbs, bring to a simmer, cover loosely with baking parchment and cook for 1½ hrs, until the squid is tender and meaty.
• To make the mayo, whisk the yolks, garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt until combined, then add the squid ink and whisk again. Slowly whisk in the oil until you have a thick, silky mayo. Serve the squid with rice and a spoon of mayo, with fronds of dill scattered over. Keep leftover mayo in the fridge (to use within one day).