Category Archives: fennel

February 1, 2021

A Little Sunny Crunch

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Winter slaws are the business when you crave something to give yourself a boost, They are bright and crunchy and made with vegetables that don’t mind wintery weather.No need to use fragile jetlagged vegetables as local seasonal vegetables are perfect to shred and dress. The bright oranges, greens and purples are like sunshine in a bowl.

The key ingredients for a slaw are usually some kind of cabbage – red or green and then whatever you have or fancy in the line of  fennel, beetroots, carrots, radishes, onions, endive etc. Apples, oranges, mangoes and pears also make good additions as do toasted nuts and seeds . They can be dressed with vinaigrettes or creamy mayonnaise. The options are endless so you can let your imagination go riot. 

This recipe is for a simple slaw that I made today from our vegetable basket and the remaining red cabbage in the garden. Salting the cabbage briefly makes the cabbage sweat and the juices run, softening the cabbage to a delightful succulent crunch. Ditto with the fennel.

Half a small red cabbage

1 fennel bulb

1 red onion

1 pear

1tsp sugar

2tbs white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar

Salt

1tsp Dijon mustard

100mls olive oil

Finely shred the red cabbage – discard the core. Sprinkle it with a little salt, toss well then leave it aside for 10 – 15 minutes. 

Finely slice the fennel and toss with a little salt. Leave aside for 10 – 15minutes

Peel and finely slice the red onion, sprinkle a little salt over then massage until the rings separate. Put the sugar into a bowl, whisk in the vinegar then toss the onions in the mix. Leave aside for 10-15 minutes

Peel and chop the pear.

Put the cabbage onto a clean cloth or kitchen roll then dry well to remove excess liquid and salt, tip into a bowl the repeat the process with the fennel.

Put all the vegetables except for the onions into a big bowl.

Drain the pickling liquid from the onions and use this as  a base for the vinaigrette

Add the onions to the big bowl.

Whisk a teaspoon of Dijon mustard into the onion vinegar then slowly whisk in the olive oil

Pour the dressing over the vegetables then toss everything together. 

The slaw is ready to eat but it’ll also sit happily in the fridge for a day or two.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , | posted in cabbage, dairy free, fennel, General foodie news, gluten-free, Salads, slaw, vegan, vegetarian

January 15, 2021

Winter Garden Soup

By lettercollumkitchenproject

Each evening I go to the garden to give the chickens their afternoon tea. It’s pretty slim pickings for them now that the shop is closed so their tea isn’t a gourmet selection anymore but fortunately the chickens are still tuned in to the universe and their inner egg radars have turned back on. It is amazing how quickly the incremental increase of daylight brings on the eggs so to thank them I prowl around the garden looking for green things to supplement their diet.

It’s surprising what’s out there. It’s not growing very quickly – more like suspended animation but there’s always something. Yesterday evening I came down to the house with a head of fennel, some leeks and a bunch of kale – I soaked some cannellini beans and we were set up for today’s lunch.

Soaking dried beans for this recipe is optional as canned beans also do a good job. The bonus of cooking dried beans is the cooking liquid makes a great base for the stock. A Parmesan rind is a definite bonus if you have one. I didn’t this time but I did find some pumpkin that needed a home while I was searching the fridge which was great for the colour scheme.

Winter Garden Soup

1 onion

100mls olive oil

1-2 stems celery

Parmesan rind – optional

1 bulb fennel

2 leeks

a bunch of kale

250g diced pumpkin

200g dried cannellini beans or 1-2 cans

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

1 litre vegetable stock or stock plus bean water

salt and pepper

If you’re using dried beans soak them in cold water overnight. The next day drain them, put them in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to the boil then simmer gently, covered with a lid for – now this is the mystery bit as it depends how old the beans were – anything between 40 mins and 2 hours. I keep checking. When they are cooked take them off the heat. Drain them and reserve the cooking liquid for the stock

Peel and chop the onion. Heat a medium/large saucepan, add the olive oil and the onion, give it a stir then turn the heat to medium.

Cut the celery in strips lengthwise then chop into a dice. Stir in with the onions.

If you have a Parmesan rind add it now.

Wash the fennel, cut it into half then slice thinly. Add to the pot. Season with a little salt and give it a stir.

You should be able to hear the vegetables sizzling. If you can’t increase the heat.

Trim the leeks – don’t cut all the green bit off, just the scraggy bits. Rinse well under running water to remove all dirt then slice into 1cm pieces. Add to the pot and stir.

Dice the pumpkin into 1cm cubes . Strip the rosemary from the woody stem and roughly chop. Add to the pot

Wash the kale then strip from the stem and chop into thin ribbons. Season with a little more salt and stir well.

Cook until the vegetables melt down. This sweetens the vegetables and enhances the flavours. Add the vegetable stock/bean water then bring to the boil. Stir in the beans then simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. If you have used a parmesan rind take it out and discard (chickens love them!).

I like to give the soup a quick mash to encourage creaminess but don’t overdo it.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in beans, fennel, General foodie news, kale, One pot wonders, pumpkin, soup, vegan, vegetarian

March 17, 2020

Rocket Beans

By lettercollumkitchenproject

One good thing the coronavirus has given me is some time. It all felt very stressful in the beginning but now with everything closing down, not having to organise work or rushing here and everywhere, everything has slowed down. I’m also avoiding wall to wall reportage, just listening to enough news to keep up, and thinking of all the things I can get done now that I have some time.

Funny how I want to fill it!

This is the first recipe since last year Halloween!

And here is what we had for dinner last night…..

Beans take time to cook – even if you open a can, they always benefit from a little bathing with the other ingredients.

This recipe is for beans cooked with melted down onion and fennel, cooked until just before they caramelise. I put in a Parmesan rind at the same time and this creates a creamy unctuous side to the whole affair but leave it out if you don’t have one or want a vegan version.

This recipe began as Beans and Greens in my repertoire but it was dark last night when I began to cook. Too late to pick greens but I had some rocket in the fridge that I made into pesto which I drizzled over  when serving. We ate the beans with chippy potatoes on the side.

Below are the instruction for cooking dried beans but last night I opened a jar!

 

Rocket Beans

150g dried cannellini beans or a can or jar drained and rinsed.

1 – 2 onions

2 stems celery

1-2 small fennel

2-3 cloves garlic

parmesan rind (optional)

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 glass white wine

 

 

100g rocket – chopped

1 dip pine nuts

100=150mls olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic- peeled and chopped

A squeeze of lemon juice

50g grated parmesan

 

Soak the cannellini beans overnight in cold water.

Bring enough water to cover the beans to the boil then drain and rinse the beans, tip them into the pot and bring back to the boil. When the beans are boiling turn to a low simmer and cook gently for 40 minutes then check them to see if they are tender, they will probably need more time so if they need longer cooking check every ten minutes until the beans are cooked. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid.

Whilst the beans are cooking, peel and chop the onions. Heat a saucepan, add enough olive oil to cover the bottom then add the onions. When the onions are sizzling reduce the heat and cook for five minutes.

Wash the celery and chop into four strips lengthwise then chop into a small dice and add to the onions.

Wash the fennel, chop in half then slice thinly and add to the pot.

Season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper – this will help the vegetables to melt down and add the Parmesan rind if you have one.

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Cook the vegetables gently until they are are soft and translucent, this will take 20-30 minutes, then peel and chop the garlic and stir in. Cook for another five minutes then add a glass of white wine, let it bubble up then add the drained beans and enough cooking liquid to just cover the beans. Use water or stock if you have opened a can/jar.  Season with salt and pepper then simmer the beans for 20-30 minutes. The liquid will reduce  – the beans shouldn’t be swimming in liquid when served but keep enough to have the beans sitting in a little sauce.

To make the pesto put all the ingredients into a jug and buzz with a handheld blender.

Adjust the consistency and season with a little salt

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To serve, put a ladleful of beans onto each plate and drizzle over a little pesto

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Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in beans, butterbeans, dairy free, fennel, General foodie news, gluten-free, One pot wonders, rocket pesto, vegan, vegetarian