Caramelised fennel

Sliced sautéed fennel, gorgeously caramelised on a knoblet of butter and a glug of maple syrup, sweetness broken beautifully with noble balsamic vinegar.

How to cook fennel?

My fennel history – briefly, as this is a brief recipe for a side dish – started with roast fennel. Various add-ons, roasted till scorched, with or without tomato sauce. I was not entirely sold on it being a tasty vegetable but then I discovered how awesome it was raw.

Raw fennel is the real deal

Raw, sliced as thinly as your skills or your mandolin will allow, marinated or not, with ranch dressing or with filleted orange – gorgeous. So much so that for approximately ten years I had consumed fennel only in the salad version – and on at least a fortnightly basis.

Until you discover caramelised fennel

Until on discovery of a slightly sad fennel languishing at the back of the veg drawer, decidedly unfit for slicing, I remembered that it can be cooked – and how.

This, my friends, is fantastic – I can happily have a bulb (or two, if small) for my whole main meal; with a crust of fresh bread perhaps.

Fennel almost dissolves into the caramelised sweetness, tanged up with the vinegar. A little butter is a must for the caramelisation finale but the white balsamic vinegar, though available in supermarkets sometimes under the guise of ‘white condiment’ or ‘balsamic glaze’, can be replaced with good quality wine or apple cider vinegar.

How to handle fennel

Final note – most recipes advise to cut out the core located in the fennel bottom but I’ve long discovered it to be a redundant piece of advice unless you’re dealing with a huge, overgrown bulb. It will keep the shape better if held through that bottom core and that is handy – I personally prefer to have it in slices rather than a pile of slivers.