Fennel and fronds (recipe)

As I was opening my CSA box this week, my neighbor asked curiously about the heads of fennel. She had not seen them before and was unsure what to do with them, so I whipped up a couple recipes to demonstrate their versatility, and I share those with you now.

Braised Fennel

• 2 lbs of fennel, or at least 2-3 big bulbs, tops cut off and reserved
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB butter
• 2 whole unpeeled cloves of garlic
• 1 cup of minced fennel fronds
• 1/2 cup of vermouth
• 1/2 of water
• Salt

Chop the tops off the fennel and halve the bulbs to make 4 pieces. Take reserved fennel fronds and mince enough to make 1 cup. Melt the butter and olive oil over medium heat in an oven proof pan with a lid. Add the fennel bulbs and saute for 10-15 minutes until brown on all sides. Add fennel fronds for last 5 minutes and allow to brown. Add vermouth and water; sprinkle with salt. Cover and put into preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes. Serve with thickened pan juices.

(Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook, by Marian Morash)

Tomato Sauce with Fennel

• 2 heads fennel
• 2 shallots, finely diced (can substitute 1/2 of an onion)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS dried fennel
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 6 cups chopped tomatoes*
• 1 cup tomato paste*

Chop off the top off the fennel and slice each bulb in half longways. Then slice thin. Add olive oil to large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the fennel, shallots and garlic. Saute 5 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften and lightly brown. Add in the fennel and oregano, saute 1 minute longer. Add in tomatoes and tomato paste. Return to boil, then turn down heat and simmer 20-25 minutes. Serve with your favorite pasta.

*I can tomatoes in the summer, when they are nice and ripe. For this recipe, I used 1 quart size and one pint size jar of tomatoes. I also used one cup of frozen, pureed, thick tomato sauce, almost like a paste.