Welcome!
I've been searching for the perfect fennel recipe for some time. My family eats it raw every day (their favorite), and I partake too but I'd still prefer to have it softened and cooked just right. I just haven't found the perfect way to cook it, until now. I often turn to Andrea Bemis of Dishing Up the Dirt when I need recipes for less common farm vegetables, so here are a couple that have wowed me recently:
Winter Squash and Potato Casserole
- 2 1/2 pounds winter squash (any variety) peeled and cubed into medium-size chunks
- 1 1/2 pound potatoes, cubed into medium-size chunks
- 2 large apples, peeled, cored and cubed into larger chunks (to match the squash)
- melted ghee, duck fat, butter or oil for cooking
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons maples syrup, divided
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground dried sage or 6 leaves fresh
- 1 pound sweet Italian sausage or breakfast sausage, casings removed and crumbled
- 2 small fennel bulbs (stalks/fronds removed), cut in half lengthwise, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1 onion, quartered and thinly sliced
- 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup minced parsley for serving
- Preheat your oven to 425 F and lightly grease two baking sheets.
- Place the cubed squash, potatoes and apples into a large bowl, and drizzle in about 2 tablespoons of cooking fat. Sprinkle over a generous couple of pinches of salt and black pepper, along with 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup and the sage.
- Turn the mixture out onto the prepared baking sheets, and roast for about 35 minutes, stirring occasionally for even roasting, or until the squash and potatoes are tender.
- Meanwhile, place a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add a bit of fat. Once the pan is hot, add the sausage and cook until browned and cooked through, about 7 minutes. Remove from the pan and keep in a bowl.
- Add a touch more fat to the pan and then add the sliced fennel and onion and caramelize together for about 10-12 minutes, or until deeply golden and a bit jammy in texture. Remove from pan and add to the sausage.
- Once the squash mixture is roasted, switch your oven setting to “broil”.
- To prepare the casserole, carefully spoon the roasted squash mixture into a large bowl, and add the sausage/fennel/onion mixture to that. Pour in the remaining 1 tablespoon maple syrup and toss to combine. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a baking dish (roughly 9 by 13).
- To finish the casserole, top with the grated cheese and place into the oven under the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the parsley. Serve warm.
Apple Fennel Crisp
Filling
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 cup finely chopped fennel (from about 1 large bulb)
- 4 cups finely chopped apples (from about 3 large apples)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of salt
Topping
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of fine sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Melt the butter in an 8 inch heavy bottom cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fennel seeds and finely chopped fennel, cook stirring occasionally, until the fennel has softened and begun to caramelize a bit, about 5-7 minutes. If the pan dries out add more butter. Remove from the heat.
- In a large bowl add the chopped apples, cooked fennel, cinnamon, ginger and pinch of salt. Give it a good mix.
- Put the mixture back into the cast iron pan and keep to the side.
- To the bowl of a food processor add HALF of the walnuts and HALF of the hazelnuts and process until a coarse meal is achieved, scraping down the sides as necessary. Add to a bowl.
- Roughly chop the remaining half of the walnuts and hazelnuts and add them to the bowl. Drizzle with the melted butter and honey. Add a touch of salt and use your hands to mix together.
- Sprinkle the mixture over the apples and fennel and place in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before scooping up and serving.
Besides admiring our fennel crop this week, we also planted 1000 tulip bulbs! These will be fresh flowers for you all in the late winter and early spring. We plant some outside, some in an unheated high tunnel, and some in a heated greenhouse so we have a very long tulip flower season. And our carrots are just about out of the ground and in storage, thanks for asking.
Eager, helpful hands helped get 1000 tulip bulbs into the ground!
Have a great week and enjoy the produce!
Katherine, Spencer and Crew
The crew hard at work on carrots last Monday.
