How To Roast Fennel
I love to roast vegetables. Eggplant, broccoli, even Brussels sprouts are delicious roasted. One vegetable that I don’t think we roast enough is fennel. These delicious bulbs full of anise flavor roast up so tender and sweet you don’t want to miss out.
How To Roast Fennel – Easy As Roasting Other Vegetables
When you think about how to roast fennel, there really is no magic involved. Like other vegetables, roasting fennel consists of a nice coating of olive oil and some salt and pepper. A hot oven then does the job of transforming the bulbs, with that celery like texture, into tender, deliciousness.
As an aside, when I am choosing my fennel, I try to find bulbs with the fronds still on. After the fennel roasts, it is nice to sprinkle fronds on top for extra flavour.
How To Roast Fennel – An Added Crunch
Sometimes when I roast vegetables, I feel like I am missing a crunch factor. Most vegetables we roast until very tender, but a little crunch would be nice. To bring a little crunch to roasted fennel, some crisped bread crumbs do a great job. Browning the bread crumbs in butter with garlic and ginger brings great flavor to the fennel, too. Just brown the bread crumbs in a frying pan on the stove then sprinkle them on top of the roasted fennel. An addition like this is a great way to add a lot of texture and different flavors to roasted vegetables.
For your pleasure, the ‘how to roast fennel’ video is below. The full recipe follows.
- 4 medium fennel bulbs wth fronds if possible
- 1 inch of fresh ginger
- 1 clove of garlic
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 cup of panko bread crumbs
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Peel the ginger with a paring knife.
- Grate the fresh ginger with small grater.
- Chop the garlic finely.
- Wash the fennel bulbs. Using a chef's knife, remove the tops, reserving the fronds to sprinkle over the final dish.
- Stand the fennel bulbs up on their root end and slice along the longer side of the bulb. Make slices about ΒΌ inch thick.
- Move the fennel slices to a baking pan. Drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Roast for 35-40 minutes until tender.
- In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt 4 tbsp butter. Add the ginger and garlic. Cook one minute until fragrant. Add the bread crumbs. Toss the crumbs in the butter and cook until golden brown, stirring often. Season the bread crumbs with salt and pepper. When the bread crumbs are golden, remove them from the heat.
- When the fennel is tender, remove if from the oven and sprinkle with the bread crumb mixture.
- Serve hot.
I hope you enjoy!
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