Fennel is native to India and Southern Europe. In the wild, it is found in the Caucasus and Crimea. For medicinal purposes, the fruits of this plant are used as a cough remedy, an essential oil is obtained from it. As a food product, fennel is underestimated in Russia, although it is sold in many large supermarkets. Most buyers simply do not know what and how to cook from it.
It is necessary
-
- For fennel stew:
- fennel bulbs 2 pcs.;
- butter 1 tablespoon;
- lemon 1 pc.
- hard cheese 100 g;
- salt.
- For the salad:
- fennel onion 1 pc.;
- green salad 2 bunches;
- orange 1 pc.;
- plain yogurt / low-fat sour cream 4 tablespoons;
- olive oil 1 tablespoon;
- mint 1 bunch;
- ground black pepper;
- salt.
Instructions
Step 1
When buying fennel, look for hard, smooth and shiny bulbs. They should be bright white, without dark spots, in no case yellowed, not wrinkled. Despite the fact that fennel is sold in our supermarkets all year round, its season starts in late January - early February. At this time, fennel is at its most delicious. As a rule, fennel is sold in supermarkets, sweet, you can eat it without cooking. Raw fennel has a fresh and clean aniseed flavor. If you bake it in the oven, it will become very soft and tender, with a pleasant sweet taste. You can fry the fennel in oil, season with lemon juice, bake in broth, stew with cream.
Step 2
Try stewing fennel. Cut the onions into quarters and fry in butter on all sides in a skillet. Add water to the pan to cover half of the fennel. Squeeze out the lemon juice, salt, cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Then remove the lid and increase the heat. When almost all the liquid has evaporated, you need to turn off the stove and immediately serve the fennel, sprinkling with grated cheese on top. In this form, it is served as a side dish for chicken, meat or fish. Its taste goes well with many foods.
Step 3
Make orange and fennel salad. To do this, cut the fennel in half and cut thinly into half rings. Then wash the chopped fennel under running ice water, towel dry, or in a salad dryer. Peel the orange, try to free it from rough membranes, cut each slice or divide it into two parts. Finely chop the mint. For dressing, mix yogurt with salt, pepper and olive oil, beat with a fork. Rinse and dry lettuce leaves well. Combine lettuce, fennel and orange, top with dressing and sprinkle with mint. This salad should be eaten right away, otherwise it will become sluggish and tasteless!
