We've been enjoying the most delicious salads every day. And greens cooked into fritatas and soups. Our cabbages are just about ready for some awesome Korean wraps, and our carrots should be just about perfect for the New Year. Our Myer Lemon tree is laden with bright yellow fruits, and we've eaten almost all of our Satsumas.
Anyone know a good recipe for Fennel?
Well...now I'm jealous! Living on the Sonoran Desert makes this kind of gardening totally out of the question...for me, anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt all looks sooooo goooooood!
We're pretty lucky to live in the zone we do for growing food to eat.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get much of the beautiful adobe inspiration like you do with de Grazie's place!!
So, we better keep posting pictures for each other!
Fennel rules. Mostly it's essential for stocks (can't do veggie stock without it, and if I have fronds and scraps, it'll go into the chicken ones too), but it sort of does different things depending on how you cook it. Last night, I did a braised fennel last night that was really good. Have a simple fennel salad recipe that we do sometimes, and it's really good roasted and creamy--got a scalloped potato w/ fennel thing that we tried for thanksgiving. (Can update with these a little later.)
ReplyDeleteGarden looks great.
Cool!! I would definitely love some Fennel recipes. And you're right about the stock. Yum. I will be working on that tomorrow, actually. With some other roots and greens.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to replicate a Kale/tofu soup that I had at Kripalu in Lenox, MA. Up near your neck of the woods.
Hey, found 'em. I liked these a lot more than my wife did, just in the interest of disclosure.
ReplyDeleteFennel salad: (this is really easy, fresh and crunchy). Slice up the fennel bulb thinly (remove the small hard core; a mandoline works well for slicing it if you have one), and add fresh lemon juice (2 lemons maybe, or the equivalent from your tree), olive oil, and about 3/4 cup of your favorite parmesan, and salt and pepper. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or three before you eat it (otherwise the fennel will taste raw and not good).
Braised fennel: (just from a recent magazine: made this the other night--tasted great, but looked sort of ugly dishwater gray.) slice the fennel and saute in oil for a several minutes, till you get slight browning. Add a cup of chicken stock, juice of an orange, a dash of balsamic, teaspoon of crushed fennel seeds, a couple cloves of minced garlic, and some salt. Simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes, until liquid is thick and fennel has a nice texture.
Scalloped Potatoes and Fennel: (I think the creamy fennel is great and really nice with potatoes and rosemary. A mandoline is handy here too.) Alternately layer sliced fennel, sliced potatoes, and a few rosemary sprigs. Mix together 2 1/4 (or "2") cups cream, 2 1/2 tsp (or "some") salt, five or six cloves of minced garlic, pepper (or white pepper), and half a stick of melted butter. Pour over the layered veggies, and bake for (I think) about an hour. (Or until it's nice and golden on top and fennel&potatoes are soft).
I can't remember exactly how I did the last one. I might have sauteed the garlic a just little in the butter first, and then dissolved a tablespoon of flour before the cream and stuff, to make a thin white sauce. That makes more sense.
Good luck.
Did you say you were growing collards down there too? I love those things. I think Jan/Feb is the best crop down there, as I recall.
I'd live in Lenox if I were richer, and could stand new york vacationers. Or if I could telecommute. I'm more "central mass."
K
I have a whole patch of collards, but they're not totally right yet.
ReplyDeleteI love the Fennel salad - DELICIOUS! And Meyer lemons are delicious and perfectly suited!
I get the dishwater grey thing whenever I braise anything, but we're giving that one a try tonight. and the Fennel/Potato is going to be featured when my vegetarian kids come home (on Tuesday next week) so thanks a lot!!
My Kale and Chard and some other green are looking good, collards not so much. I think we need more cold weather. Yesterday it was 80.
Do you ever go to Epicurious.com? We like that site a lot - great recipe ideas.
My wife goes there a lot. Also some good luck with recipes on Chowhound. She's often the brains in that department: I don't have a lot of patience with recipe-surfing for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAll I found for the potatoes was that list of ingredients and what's in my addled memory (it was very tasty, that I remember), so I hope I steered you right.
We've got all the ingredients for the potato/fennel and can't wait to get it in the oven.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll sizzle the garlic in the butter, and use some flour, it seems pretty straightforward.
And delicious! I'll post a picture and review when we're done!