This is super simple, but everybody needs to know that this is one of the best ways to cook fennel. Really quick, and a great side dish so serve with any meat.
Roasted fennel
What you need:
1/2 fennel bulb (per serving), stem trimmed, greens put aside
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. butter
salt
black pepper
sugar
What you do:
Slice the fennel, not too thin. In a skillet, heat oil and butter over medium heat. Carefully add the fennel, cook about 4 minutes from each side. Season each side with salt, freshly ground pepper and sugar. During the last minute, add the fennel greens, serve immediately.
Potatoes and fennel have a friend in goat cheese. The three of them together are just great! This super simple gratin has the cheese layered along with the vegetables instead of a cheese crust.
Fennel potato gratin
What you need:
100g fennel
250g potatoes (3 medium sized potatoes)
50g Saint Maure cheese (optional)
100ml vegetable broth
100ml low fat cream
salt
pepper
sugar
What you do:
Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. Wash and thinly slice the fennel. Cut the Saint Maure cheese into 9 slices. Preheat the oven to 200°C/390°F.
Alternating between potatoes and fennel, layer the vegetables in a small casserole dish. After two rows of both potato and fennel, add a cheese layer with three slices of Saint Maure. Repeat until everything is placed in the casserole dish.
In a small pot, bring broth and cream to a boil, season with salt, pepper and sugar. Pour over the vegetables.
This week is the first of June, can you believe it? But hey, new month, new VotM. So, June’s Veggie of the Month is…
radicchio!
If you have only had it in your salad, definitely try cooking it this month. Like in my recipe for gnocchi with radicchio and mushrooms! If you are not sure if you like the characteristic bitter flavor. cut out the white parts of the leaves. They contain the better part of the bitters (but because they are actually good for you, you might want at least try it once).
Gnocchi with radicchio and mushrooms
What you need:
200g Radicchio
2 tbsp. olive oil
150g mushrooms
500g fresh gnocchi
100ml cream (I used low-fat)
50ml white wine
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
garlic powder
What you do:
Wash and finely slice the radicchio and the mushrooms. In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the radicchio and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil in medium sized pot. Cook the gnocchi according to package instructions, strain and set aside.
After 10 minutes, remove the radicchio from the pan. In the same pan over medium-high heat, cook the mushrooms until slightly browned. Add the white wine and balsamic vinegar, let most of the fluid evaporate. Add the radicchio and mix, then add the cream and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Add the gnocchi, mix well and serve immediately.
Hooray for the month of May! One of my favorite vegetables of all time is in season right now, and it had to be May’s Veggie of the Month:
the asparagus!
I have never met someone who did not like asparagus. Did you? I mean, there are so many fabulous ways to cook it – super crispy roasted asparagus, or white asparagus with hollandaise sauce, or a soup, or a tarte… nom nom!
This month’s first VotM recipe is a risotto:
Asparagus risotto
What you need:
200g asparagus, washed and trimmed
2 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
½ onion, diced
80g risotto rice (Arborio)
100ml white wine
800ml warm vegetable broth
50g grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
What you do:
Cook the asparagus in salted water, for about two minutes, then drain it and cool it in ice water. Let it cool for a few minutes, drain and set aside. Heat the broth and keep it warm – you don’t want to add cool broth to your risotto, it would stop the cooking process again and again.
In a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until they just start to brown a little (about 4-5 minutes). Add the rice and stir frequently, for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and stir, let the rice absorb it. Once there is almost no liquid left, add about 100ml of the broth, stirring frequently. Turn the heat down to medium (my stove’s highest setting is 12, I usually go for a 7-8 here), it is not supposed to boil like crazy. Once the rice has absorbed almost all of the broth, add another eyeballed 100ml of broth, let the rice absorb it, and repeat until the risotto has a creamy consistency and the rice is tender, but still slightly firm to the bite (“al dente”). This process takes about 20 minutes. Add the other tablespoon of butter and 1/4 of the Parmesan. Stir to combine, then add the asparagus and mix carefully.
Serve with Parmesan – and enjoy!
Tip!
You can add the cut-off ends of the asparagus to the broth you use to cook the risotto instead of just throwing them away. Bring it to a boil, let it simmer for 15 minutes, then start making your risotto. This is a great way to give this dish an extra intense asparagus flavor!
