Fennel, Apple and Pecan Salad

A couple months ago, I asked my mom why she had never introduced us to fennel when we were kids. I told her I felt like I missed out because I only recently discovered it. At this point my mom confessed she'd never heard of it when we were kids. It was a sad moment, thinking of all those fennel recipes I'd missed out on tasting.

Always one to make up for missed opportunities, while leafing through my new cookbook Serving Up the Harvest, I noticed that fennel was one of the vegetables she highlights. Sure fennel is a mid- to late- summer vegetable. And the only place around I can get it is at the Meijer's in the next county. Still I was bound and determined I was going to try at least one of the fennel recipes in my new book. The heat seems to have broken around here, but the humidity is still killer, so I decided to go with the Fennel, Apple, and Pecan Salad. No cooking required.

This sweetness of the fennel plays against the tang of the buttermilk and the sour of the apple just perfectly. It's crunchy. It's cool. The toasted pecans really add some interesting accents to the texture and flavor. And frankly, it's kind of pretty. I like to think of it as a fennel slaw almost. It would go great with barbecue. I cut my fennel and apple small so that I could get bites that were fennel, pecan and apple all at the same time. And I'm glad I did.

Fennel, Apple, and Pecan Salad
from Serving Up the Harvest by Andrea Chesman

1/3 cup buttermilk
2 scallions, white and light green parts only, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
2 fennel bulbs, trimmed, cut into quarters, and thinly sliced
2 apples, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1 cup pecans, toasted
Chopped fennel fronds to garnish

To make the dressing, whisk together the buttermilk, scallions, oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl.
Combine the fennel, apples, and pecans in a large bowl. Toss to mix. Pour in the dressing. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Garnish with the fennel fronds and serve.

Sauteed Fennel with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Garlic

This is not a pretty side dish. It's kind of brown and green and not terribly appealing. But do not be put off by it's looks. This is a very simple and incredibly tasty vegetable side dish. I have been eyeing making this Fennel with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Garlic since I started peeking through my all time favorite cookbook. Yes. I'm talking about Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop. It's just such a complete cookbook, chock full information and recipes for pretty much every vegetable I can get. Like tonight's vegetable was close race between some beets, some baby zucchini, and the fennel that I've been meaning to cook for a while.

I'm glad I chose the fennel. It's not as pretty as the sweet potatoes that I made using a sweet and spicy spice blend sent to me by the lovely Amanda at Mrs. W's Kitchen. Seriously, go check her out because she has all kinds of healthy great recipes that keep in mind Diabetic and gluten free lifestyles. The fennel, ugly as it may be was subtly licorice flavored and the sweetness of the raisins and the crunch of the pine nuts set it off perfectly.

Sauteed Fennel with Raisins, Pine Nuts, and Garlic

From Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop

2 medium fennel bulbs

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 medium garlic cloves minced

2 Tbsp golden raisins

2 Tbsp pine nuts

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Trim the stems and fronds from the fennel. Discard the stems; mince enough of the fronds to yield 1 tablespoon. Trim a thick slice from the base of the bulb and remove any tough or blemished outer layers. Cut the bulb in half through the base and use a small, sharp knife to remove the triangular piece of the core from each half. With each fennel piece flat side down and your knife parallel to the work surface, slice crosswise to yield several 1/2 inch thick slices. Cut the slices lengthwise to yield long strips about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the fennel strips and toss to coat them with oil. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the fennel has softened considerably but still offers some resistance, about 15 minutes.

Add the garlic, raisins, and pine nuts and cook, stirring often, until the garlic is golden, about 1 minute. Season generously with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the minced fennel fronds and serve immediately.

I Love Legumes!

So it's the last day of January. It also looks like as soon as midnight hits we here in Nowhere, Ohio are going to get blasted with snow. Then that will be followed with a lovely quarter inch of freezing rain. This should be fun. At least that's what the National Weather Service says.

But what that also means is that I will no longer be concentrating solely on vegetables. I will be posting on an occasional sweet, like the cookies I had to get out of my house because there was no doubt that I could eat the entire batch in one day. I also got some bread books for my birthday and I'll most likely be trying some of them out. AND I'm toying with the idea of giving up meat (in the Catholic sense) for Lent. So not to worry there will still be vegetables. Just not everyday.

Todays vegetables, because today is still January, is Braised Fennel and White Beans from the ever so lovely Martha Stewart. Being that the Brain is a man and beans tend to have a malodorous effect on men, I left him at work happily eating some Fritos, Mountain Dew, and a can of Chef Boyardee. And I came home to warm up and indulge in my beans and fennel. So very very delicious! I can't even claim that I found this recipe. My stepdad made it for the family Christmas of 2006 to accomodate my sister-in-law who happens to be a vegan. It was my first taste of fennel and let me tell you, I'm hooked.

The beans still retain their shape but add a nice buttery taste which plays so well against the tang of the vinegar, the sweetness of the onions, and the licorice taste of the fennel. Yes it's the bulb of the fennel that is used in this recipe. Fennel is such an interesting vegetable because you can eat the bulb, the fronds, or the seed. Raw its taste is intensely of licorice, but that flavor mellows dramatically on cooking. It's also known as anise.

So yeah, these beans were delicious. So good in fact you could say that I love it. Which happens to be very convenient because, Susan at the Well-Seasoned Cook is having a blog event called My Legume Love Affair. And this is my entry. She'll post a round up of the variety of legume dishes the weekend of February 10th so be sure to check back on her website then. I personally am pretty excited to see what everyone comes up with. There are some seriously creative food bloggers out there.

Braised Fennel and White Beans
from Martha Stewart Living, January 2007

1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 (15.5 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tsp coarsley chopped fresh oregano (plus more for garnish)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

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

I apologize for my spelling errors, but I can't seem to get the spell check to work. D'Oh!