If you’re a huge fan of black liquorice and vegetables, or have a misbehaving child to punish, you’ll love fennel! This was my first time trying fennel; I actually had no idea what it was until I started flipping through a beautiful cookbook (Ottolenghi’s ‘Plenty’) that I received as part of an amazing late birthday present (Thanks Jenny & Christine!).

I thought it’d be fun to try something new this week, and was really drawn to the photo that accompanied this recipe, so I couldn’t wait to try it. The anticipation quickly died the moment I sliced one of the fennels and smelled black liquorice. I probably should’ve googled the taste of fennel beforehand. Presentation-wise, this dish looks great. I just couldn’t get over the black liquorice taste, and was thankful for the dill and goat cheese. Perhaps it’s an acquired taste… or maybe I should’ve tried finding baby fennel (which is supposed to be sweeter)… but I probably won’t be making this again unless I’m hosting a fennel fanatic for lunch.

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Recipe

Remove the fennel fronds (you may save these for later as a garnish) and root before slicing the fennel in half. Next, remove the tough core at the bottom of the fennel and then cut the fennel into 1/2 inch slices.

Add half of the butter and olive oil to a large frying pan at high heat. Once the butter foams, add the fennel slices. Careful not to overcrowd the pan.

Sear the fennel slices for about 2 minutes each side (until they’re a nice golden brown) and remove from the pan. Repeat the last two steps with the remaining butter and oil to sear the rest of the fennel slices. Once complete, remove the fennel slices from the pan.

Stir the sugar, fennel seeds and a generous amount of salt and pepper in the pan. Fry these ingredients for about 30 seconds until the sugar dissolves. Next, turn down the stove to medium-low, and add the fennel slices so that they can gently caramelize.

Toss the fennel slices in the garlic, lemon zest, and dill. Serve topped with goat cheese. You may also garnish the dish with the inedible fronds that were removed in step 1.

This dish pairs well with crostini. If you like the taste of caramelized black liquorice with the texture of cooked celery. Enjoy!