Braised Fennel

This tender braised fennel in a luscious pan sauce melts in your mouth. A simple but elegant side dish to go with festive meals. This recipe makes about 4-5 side dish sized servings.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine European, International

Keyword Braise, Fennel

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 40

Servings servings

Calories 151kcal

Equipment

braising pan or heavy roasting pan with tight lid

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb
5 sprigs fresh thyme
0.5 cup low sodium chicken stock or low sodium vegetable stock / white wine. more as needed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
0.5 teaspoon salt or more to taste
0.5 teaspon black pepper

pan sauce thickener

1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F.
Slice the garlic thinly. Wash the fresh thyme. Wash and trim the fennel bulb. Cut into 8-10 thick wedges.
Arrange the fennel in a braising pan. Add the garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and chicken stock or other braising liquid. Make sure the liquid covers 1 cm / 0.5 inches of the bottom of the pan.
Cover the pan with a tight lid and slow cook at 150°C / 300°F for about 1.5 hours or until fork tender. Check once halfway and top up liquid as necessary.
After 2.5 hours, remove the pan from the oven and increase oven temperature to 200°C / 400°F.
Top up the liquid in the pan to same level (make sure the liquid covers 1 cm / 0.5 inches of the bottom of the pan).
Knead together 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon flour. Either swirl it in between the fennel (shortcut) or gently remove the fennel and whisk in the kneaded butter and flour on the stovetop over medium heat until thickened, then put the fennel back in (smoother sauce).
Put the uncovered pot back in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden.
Remove from oven. Check sauce thickness. If too thick add a few teaspoons more braising liquid until the right consistency. If too thin, cook on stovetop over medium heat until reduced to your liking.
Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve hot with more fresh ground black pepper.

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