Braised Fennel With Fresh Figs Food

SKILLET-BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim the tops of the fennel bulbs; cut bulbs in half lengthwise.
• Melt butter in a large iron skillet over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until melted. Add garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add fennel, cut side down, and cook until well browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the fennel burn.
• Turn over bulbs and add orange juice, water, and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover pan and cook until fennel is soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 to 30 minutes. If the pan becomes dry during cooking, add a little more water. If any liquid is left at the end of the cooking time, continue to cook, uncovered, at medium heat until the liquid evaporates. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve immediately.

BRAISED CHICKEN THIGHS AND APPLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degree F. Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large, deep ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the skillet skin-side down and cook, flipping once, until golden on both sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Reduce the heat to medium, add the thyme and leeks to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the skillet is nearly dry. Stir in the broth, apple cider and a pinch each of salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
• Use a fork to mash the butter and flour together in a small bowl until smooth. Whisk the butter-flour mixture into the skillet until dissolved. Stir in the apples and remove from the heat. Nestle the chicken skin-side up in the skillet along with any collected juices from the plate. Bake until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH ORANGE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 325°F.
• Heat 2 Tbs. of the oil in a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the fennel, cut side down. Cook undisturbed until browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Flip and repeat on the other cut sides.
• Arrange the fennel browned sides up in a large (10×14-inch) gratin or shallow baking dish. Add the remaining 1 Tbs. oil to the skillet and repeat with the remaining fennel. Lower the heat to medium if any smoking occurs. It's OK if the wedges are snug in the baking dish; they'll shrink as they braise.
• Add the garlic to the skillet and and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dissolve any browned bits, about 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer to meld the flavors, about 2 minutes. Pour over the fennel.
• With a vegetable peeler, remove three 3-inch strips of zest from the orange and then juice the orange. Nestle the pieces of zest in the fennel and pour the juice over. Sprinkle with the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, 1 tsp. salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
• Cover the dish tightly with foil and braise in the oven until the fennel has collapsed and a paring knife penetrates the cores with no resistance, about 1-1/4 hours.
• Spoon some braising liquid over the fennel, garnish with the reserved fronds, and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

30-MINUTE COD WITH LEMONY BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim the tops and bottoms from the fennel bulbs, reserving a handful of the fronds for garnish. Quarter the bulbs. Set each quarter on its side and slice off most of the core. Cut the quarters into wedges about 1-inch thick (don't worry if some pieces fall off the wedge-use those too).
• Put 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Place over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the fennel and cook without stirring until fennel is brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Stir and let the fennel continue to cook until some more pieces brown, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add 1/2 cup water to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper. Lower the heat to medium, cover the skillet, and cook 5 minutes.
• Sprinkle the cod with salt and pepper and place on top of the fennel. Cover the pan again and simmer, adding more liquid occasionally if the pan is dry, until the fennel is very tender and the cod is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, chop the reserved fennel fronds (you should have about 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons) and remove the zest from the lemon. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook, stirring frequently, until the breadcrumbs brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and allow to cool. Mix the fennel fronds and lemon zest into the breadcrumbs until combined.
• Juice the lemon. Roughly chop the olives.
• When the cod and fennel are done, stir in the lemon juice and the olives. Remove from the heat and let stand for about 1 minute to warm the olives. Transfer the fennel and cod to serving bowls and top the fish with the toasted breadcrumbs. Pour any remaining pan juices over the fennel.

BRAISED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut off and discard stalks from fennel bulbs, reserving fronds. Chop 1 tablespoon fronds and discard remainder. Cut bulbs lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices, leaving core intact.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown fennel slices well, turning over once, 3 to 4 minutes total.
• Reduce heat to low. Sprinkle fennel with salt and pepper, then add broth and water. Cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with fennel fronds.

BRAISED FENNEL WITH FRESH FIGS

Steps:

• Chop the onion and two of the figs coarsely and put them in a saucepan large enough to hold all the fennel. Add the chicken stock and salt. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, cut the dark green ends away from the fennel and reserve for other use or discard. Cut the rest lengthwise into quarters and add them to the pan.
• Cover the pan tightly and let the fennel cook at a very low simmer until it is tender, about 30 minutes. (Note: It is not necessary to cover the fennel with liquid; it will cook evenly in the tightly covered pan.)
• Remove the fennel from the pan juices.
• Puree the pan juices in a food processor or blender, adding lemon juice to taste. Taste for seasoning.
• To serve, cut the tips from the remaining figs and cut them lengthwise into thin slices, leaving them attached at the base. They will fall open into a fan shape. Place one at the edge of each of eight small salad plates.
• Overlap two fennel quarters at the center and spoon some of the puree over the fennel.
• Garnish the rest of the plate with a handful of greens and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

EASY BRAISED FENNEL RECIPE WITH ORANGE

Steps:

• Cut off and discard stems/stalks from fennel bulb, reserving some of the fronds (wispy green tips).
• Slice fennel in half, lengthwise. Remove tough core by making two angled cuts. Then cut halves into 1/2-inch thick wedges. Season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a medium pot with lid over medium-high heat. Add fennel wedges and brown on both sides, about 2 minutes on each side.
• Reduce heat to low, add orange zest, juice and the stock. Cook, covered, until fennel is tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve with a few reserved fennel fronds sprinkled on top.