Baked crusty fennel
It may not be your first choice, but fennel is a great ingredient for a tasty, simple dish. For the Vow to Wow plan, Sally Bee recommends it as a light lunch option but you could also cook it up as a side dish!
Sally says: "The refreshing, delicate aniseed flavour of the fennel in the dish is complemented by the crispy crust. If you’ve never cooked fennel before – do give this a go, it’s delicious!"
Ingredients
Serves 4
3 fennel bulbs, cut lengthways into quarters2 tbsp olive oil1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped55g/2oz day-old wholemeal (whole-wheat) breadcrumbs2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsleyFreshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 190˚C
Cook the fennel in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes
Drain the fennel and place in a large ovenproof baking dish or baking tray, then brush with half of the olive oil
In a small bowl, mix together the garlic, breadcrumbs and parsley, then stir in the rest of the olive oil. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the fennel, then season well with black pepper.
Bake the fennel for about 30 minutes, or until it is tender and the breadcrumb topping is crisp and golden brown
Serve the baked fennel hot, as an accompaniment to any meat or fish dish or as a light lunch on the Vow to Wow plan