Caramelised Fennel & Cider
Preparation 15 minutes / Cook 45 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 heads of fennel
- 25g Graham’s butter
- 1tsp granulated sugar
- 275ml of farmhouse cider from Allan Water Brewhouse
- 55ml cider vinegar
- Prepare your fennel heads -cut of the leafy fronds, (saving them for garnish), Slice of the base root, and the fronds at the top.
- Mix the cider and cider vinegar together with a pinch of salt, in a bowl of jug and set aside for later.
- Steam the fennel for approximately 10minutes. Use a medium steamer saucepan with 1 inch of boiling water below the steamer section.
- Once steamed, remove the fennel and set aside. Empty the water out the pan. Return pan to the heat and add the butter and sugar until it becomes frothy.
- Return fennel to the pan with the butter. Browning the fennel on both sides.
- Add to the pan the cider & cider vinegar mixture, and with the cut side of the fennel facing upwards, simmer gently for 20 minutes with the pan covered. Turn the fennel over and cook for a further 20 minutes uncovered.
- Keep an eye on the fennel near the end of cooking. The juices should have evaporated into a glaze. You can use a skewer to check the fennel is tender.
- Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with the leafy fennel to garnish.
This recipe is adapted from an original from Delia Smith
Cooks Tip – Fennel works well as a side dish with roast pork, but for a vegetarian dish serve with braised Puy lentils cooked with finely chopped carrot, celery and onion in a good quality vegetable stock.