Braised fennel with pork ragu

All about fennel

Fennel is an ancient vegetable, known and grown even before the Roman times in the Mediterranean region. The Romans called it faeniculum, which I remember because it sounds like funicular. In modern Italian it’s finocchio, and apparently bears no relation to Pinocchio’s name origin.

Fennel is related to carrots, not onions which might be the immediate guess. It forms a bulb of thickened leaves, the main edible part, out of which stalks sprout, widely used for stock. Amongst the stalks is the bouquet of feathery fronds that can be used like herbs. And fennel stalks produce flowers which yield fennel seeds, a seasoning in its own right.

It grows abundantly in the Med but recent hot summers suggest it might spread to home and commercial gardens of northern Europe too. Good news, as its price can widely vary in the UK even in season: from high end organic retailers’ almost £4 per bulb to less than £1 in the markets.

Various ways with fennel

Fennel has somewhat a Marmite quality due to it’s aniseed, almost liquorice flavour. But those who don’t like that taste in cooked fennel might still enjoy it raw in salads because fennel can be served raw, marinated, baked, fried or braised.

To prepare it, first trim the stalks at their base and reserve them for stock if you’re of that orientation. Don’t discard the fronds whatever you’re making: they are aromatic and pretty scattered over a finished dish.

The bottom of the bulb is usually quite tough so it needs to be trimmed too, and the first outer layer if it looks tough or blemished. It does feel like you’re chucking out half the bulb but – especially when braised – those bits might turn out very fibrous and stringy.

Some people also cut out the core but I find it makes sense only with raw fennel for a salad. When cooked, the core will be as tender as the rest of the vegetable.

Thus trimmed bulb can be quartered, thickly sliced or finely shaved, lengthwise or crosswise.

How to make pork with braised fennel?

As mentioned, this recipe is inspired by the Provençal fennel, braised with pork belly or bacon and served, à la façon française, as a side dish to an equally opulent meat centrepiece. Mine is a one pot dinner, with bacon replaced by leaner pork mince.

To start, trim the fennel bulbs as described above. If they are not very large you might need to purchase three of them, in case after trimming you’re left with rather modestly sized ones.

Cut them into quarters or eights if bigger, making sure the core holds the leaves intact.

Those wedges need to be nicely browned in a large sauté or frying pan that you’ll be cooking the dish in, but if needed, they can be seared in batches. It will take about three minutes on each side over high heat with a little olive oil, and then the fennel can go off the heat to return later.

Using the same pan but perhaps wiped with paper towels, cook the meat now like for a chilli or a bolognese.

Next the onions go in, followed by garlic and all the spices. A little flour is necessary to thicken the sauce and to make the ragu more cohesive.

And that’s the base of the braise which the fennel wedges can now be arranged upon, with a good amount of stock. And it’s lid on, and half an hour of steady simmer.
After that time check the sauce, jus, gravy: it should be scant and not too watery. If needs be, take off the lid and give it a few more minutes to cook off.

How to serve it?

I find this dish needs a filler to serve with. On its own it’s a bit unwholesome, like a stir-fry without rice or noodles. The recipe suggests couscous or bulgur wheat as it’s an easy, low effort filler, but rice is an excellent option as well.

I also love it with plain pearl barley or spelt, or a pile of soaked, roasted buckwheat. And if all you have is some fresh bread, that’s all right too – very much so.

More fennel recipes

Potato and fennel gratin, a super-comfort dish of sliced potatoes and fennel baked in garlicky cream and a generous sprinkle of Gruyere or Cheddar.

Thinly sliced fennel lightly wilted with salt and sugar is gorgeous, but the homemade ranch dressing with chives and dill is the star of the salad.

Fennel and spinach lasagne rolls, a pasta bake with gorgeously layered flavours of salty feta mixed into mild fennel, and creamy spinach sauce as a background to the rolled up, stuffed lasagne sheets.

More minced pork recipes

Cabbage and minced pork is the perfect combo, put together in this easy recipe of spicy Asian flavours. Pork mince with cabbage make a delicious, easy and budget dish that resembles both East European peasant food and a good Chinese stir-fry.

Pork mince and red kidney bean chilli is a wonderfully warming and easy budget dish. With dried chillies or even just chilli powder, beans cooked from scratch or tinned, the end result will always be comforting and rewarding.

Cabbage rolls stuffed with a pork mince and rice filling, baked in a simple tomato sauce – that’s Polish golabki; the ultimate comfort dish. Also, the best use of the outer cabbage leaves.