22 July 2009

Recipe - Fennel Braised In Milk

Recipe - Fennel Braised In Milk

This is an unusual, but great, Italian style way of making fennel as a vegetable.  It’s really great with a traditional English roast chicken.

Ingredients

900g fennel bulbs

1tsp sea salt – more or less to taste

½ tsp organic cinnamon

½ tsp organic nutmeg, freshly grated

½ tsp organic black pepper, freshly ground

200ml full fat milk

120ml double cream

1tsp sugar

Clean fennel, remove bruised parts and the stalks.  Blanch in boiling salted water for 3 minutes, then drain and cut into 2.5cm segments.

Put the spices and 150ml milk in a pan and add the fennel.  Cover and cook over a gentle heat for 20 minutes, or until tender.  Add more milk if the fennel looks dry and turn it around to ensure that it is cooked all over.  At the end of the cooking there should be no liquid left.

Pour over the cream and add the sugar.  Stir gently and cook for 5 minutes.