Braised fennel with capers and olives

Braised fennel with capers and olives

I just love to test a Ottolenghi recipe every week. This one scared me when I saw the shopping list and thought I’ll get a strange flavor in the end. I was surprised to get a very very complete mixture of flavors. Maybe a little to sweet at my taste (next time I’ll use less sugar) but it still was very tasty. So here it is:

Braised fennel with capers and olives
Serves 4
Total Time
40 min
Total Time
40 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 medium fennel bulbs
  2. 3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
  3. Salt and black pepper
  4. 15 large whole garlic cloves, skin on
  5. 4 tbsp lemon juice mixed with 2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
  6. 1 medium tomato, cut into 1cm dice
  7. 250ml fresh vegetable stock (I used a home made one)
  8. 20g capers, drained
  9. 25g black wrinkly olives, pitted and chopped in half
  10. 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
  11. 2½ tsp caster sugar (use 1½ next time, shoul be enough)
  12. 100g ricotta
  13. 1 tsp grated lemon zest
Instructions
  1. First prepare the fennel. Trim off and discard the tops (reserve any leafy fronds for garnish) and cut each bulb in half from top to bottom; you are aiming for thick slices about 2.5cm wide.
  2. In a large frying pan for which you have a lid, heat two and a half tablespoons of oil on a medium to high heat. Add half the fennel with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Cook for five or six minutes, turning once, so it's nicely brown on both sides, remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining fennel.
  3. Keep the empty pan on the heat, pour in the remaining oil, add the garlic and fry for three minutes, tossing occasionally, so the skin gets scorched all over. Lower the heat to medium, carefully (it spits!) add the verjuice and reduce until there are about two tablespoons of liquid left in the pan. Add the tomato, 100ml of the stock, the capers, olives, thyme, sugar, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cook for two minutes, then return the fennel to the pan. Add the remaining stock, pop on the lid and leave to simmer for 15-18 minutes, turning once during the cooking, until the fennel is soft and the sauce has thickened. (You may need to remove the lid and increase the heat for the last five minutes.)
  4. Place one slice of fennel on each plate, spoon over the sauce and serve with a spoonful of ricotta and some freshly grated lemon zest. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve warm or at room temperature.
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