Marinated fennel with goat cheese & capers

For ➍ as a side dish, for ➋ as a main 

1 fennel bulb 

1 tbs fennel seed 

½ ts sea salt 

1.5 dl virgin olive oil 

2 tbs capers oil (for frying) 

1 soft fresh soft goat cheese, French 

1-1.5 lemon 

Grind the fennel seed with the sea salt in a mortar (but not necessarily until it is a homogeneous powder) and mix the result with the olive oil.* Scrape the fennel into thin ribbons with a mandolin. Mix them generously with the fennel oil* and let them marinate (that is allowed overnight, but half an hour is also good). 

Rinse the capers and pat them dry. Heat a little oil in a saucepan and fry the capers until they get a meaty texture with crispy edges. Let them drain.** 

Sprinkle the capers over the fennel and serve with the goat cheese. Serve with crusty bread, which you can dip in the soft cheese and marinade. 

*Make a lower calories lemon oil marinade with 2tbs olive oil, juice & grated peel of 1-1.5 lemon. Add the fennel seeds & salt. 

**Don't fry the capers when short in time.

Fen'neru miso (fennel miso with ginger)

For ➍

2 tbs vegetable oil

500 g fennel bulbs, finely sliced

1 carrot, in thin sticks

white of 2 leeks, in rings

2 potatoes, peeled, diced

2.5 cm piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

½ small green chilli peppers, sliced

1 small red chilli pepper, sliced

1 ts fennel seeds, crushed

salt

3 tbs red miso paste with barley

1.5 l dashi stock*

150 g watercress, chopped + extra for garnish

5 snow peas, halved

1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, carrot, leek and potatoes and fry the vegetables for a few minutes, until they are soft. Stir in the ginger, garlic, chillies, and fennel seeds. Season with salt and let everything cook on low heat for 10 m.

Dissolve the miso in 1.2 dl of boiling dashi stock.

Stir the miso mixture and remaining stock into the soup.

Let the soup simmer for 15-20 m, until the potatoes are soft. Add the watercress and snow peas. Boil gently for another 3 m.

Add the lemon juice to the soup.

Ladle the soup into bowls.

Garnish with additional watercress and serve the soup hot.

*Use chicken or mushroom stock

Gnocchi with cavolo nero & sausage

For ➍

2 salsicce or other pork sausages

3 tbs sunflower oil

1 tbs fennel seeds

500 g  gnocchi

800 g Italian stir-fry mix cavolo nero* 

Remove the skin from the sausages. Heat ⅓ of the oil in a frying pan and fry the sausage meat with the fennel seeds 3 m over medium heat until golden brown. While cooking, press the meat into pieces with a wooden spoon.

Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and fry the gnocchi 8 m. Over medium heat until golden yellow and done. Toss regularly.

Add the stir-fry vegetables to the sausage meat and fry for 7 m while stirring over high heat. 

Add the gnocchi, season with salt and pepper and serve.

*Or make a mix from cavolo nero cabbage, chestnut mushrooms, broccoli & scallion.

Braised fennel with lemon

For ➋ or ➍ (as side dish)

3 fennel bulbs, quartered

15-25 cl water**

8 cl olive oil

2 ts ground fennel seeds

2 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice* 

1 tbs chopped fennel fronds

Arrange the fennel in a large skillet. Add enough water to the pan to come at lease halfway up the sides of the fennel. **

Drizzle the fennel with the olive oil, sprinkle with the fennel seeds and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Bring the fennel to a simmer, cover and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan every now and then, until the fennel is tender, 20-30 m.** 

Remove the lid for the last few m of cooking to allow the liquid to reduce and thicken. 

Stir in the lemon juice* and fennel fronds. 

Serve the fennel drizzled with the thickened cooking liquid. 

Serve with roasted chicken, grilled halibut or salmon, grilled or roasted meats. 

*Use fresh blood orange juice instead.

**Chop the fennel, add 4 tbs blood orange juice, 2 tbs olive oil, cover and cook in the microwave (about 7 m for 500 g fennel). Serve with cherry tomatoes and fregola, and roasted salmon.

Roasted chicken with clementines & arak

For ➍
6 tbs arak (or ouzo or pernod)
4 tbs olive oil
3 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice
3 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbs grainy mustard
3 tbs light brown sugar
1½ ts kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
2 medium fennel bulbs cut lengthwise, then into quarters
8 chicken thighs (about 1.3 kg)*
4 clementines, unpeeled, sliced thin
1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
2 ts fennel seeds, lightly crushed
parsley, to garnish

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together arak, oil, orange and lemon juices, mustard, brown sugar and salt. Season with pepper, to taste. Add fennel, chicken, clementine slices, thyme and crushed fennel seeds. Turn several times to coat. If time allows marinate chicken for several hours or preferably overnight.**
Preheat oven to 220°C. Tranfer all ingredients, including marinade, to a large roasting pan. Chicken should be skin side up. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, 35-45 m.*** Remove from the oven.
Lift chicken, fennel and clementines on a serving plate. Cover and keep warm.
Pour cooking liquid into a small saucepan. Place over medium-high heat, bring to a boil, then simmer until sauce is reduced and you are left with about 8 cl (⅓ cup). You can degrease by using a spoon to remove some of the fat from top of the sauce.
Pour heated sauce over chicken. Garnish with parsley and serve. Serve with jasmine rice. Or with Greek lemon roasted potatoes.

*Or 1 large organic or free-range chicken, about 1.3 kg, divided into 8 pieces.
**Omit the marinade. Put the chicken and marinade in oven when it is pre-heating.
***Vegetables and fruit might be a little bit overcooked with this time-schedule. Add vegetables and fruit 10-15 m after chicken and marinade to have them crispier. When fowl meat is cut in smallish pieces (4x4 cm), all the cooking can be finished in some 20 m.
Otherwise, or when the chicken is not cooked through after this time, remove chicken and give it a microwave heat burst (1 m/ 100 g).

Fennel-scented salmon with lentil & spinach salad

For ➋
100 g French green lentils, rinsed & debris removed
50 cl water
1 bay leaf
1½ tbs sherry wine vinegar
1 ts Dijon mustard
½ ts plus ⅛ ts sea salt, divided
4 tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1½ tbs minced shallot
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
2 [wild Alaskan] salmon fillets (150 g each)
⅛ ts pepper
⅛ ts ground fennel seed (or fennel pollen, if available)
2 handfuls baby spinach
6 cornichons, for garnish

Preheat oven to 200°C.
Prepare lentil salad. Combine lentils, water, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 m, until lentils are tender. Drain and discard bay leaf. 
While lentils are cooking, make the dressing.
Stir together sherry wine vinegar, mustard, and ½ ts salt in a small bowl. Gradually add 3 ½ tbs olive oil, whisking constantly, until emulsified. While lentils are still hot, add shallot, parsley, and ¾ of the dressing, and toss to combine. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Cook salmon. Wipe salmon dry with a paper towel. Brush an ovenproof baking dish with a little of the remaining olive oil, and set salmon fillet inside, skin side down. Brush salmon with the remaining olive oil, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and fennel seed. Bake until just cooked through, about 20 m.
To serve, divide spinach between 2 plates. Top each with lentil salad and a fillet of salmon. Drizzle the remaining dressing on the spinach and garnish with the cornichons.

Sweet potato with feta, olives & coriander

For ➍
300 g feta
½ ts fennel seeds
½ ts coriander seeds
1 chilli pepper
4 large sweet potatoes
125 g black olives
1 bunch fresh coriander
olive oil
pepper

Preheat oven at 180°C.
Prick with a fork some holes in the sweet potatoes and place them in the oven until they are completely cooked (about 50 m).
Remove the seeds from the chilli. Cut it fine.
Remove pits from the olives. Cut them into pieces.
Crumble the feta. Mix with the fennel and coriander seeds, olives and sliced ​​chilli. Add a few tbs of olive oil and mix into a smooth mixture.
Halve the cooked sweet potatoes, remove a scoop and put the feta mixture in.
Finish with a handful of coriander leaves.

Read tip on cooking sweet potatoes & microwave.