Lobster tails went on sale last week. $5 each! So, of course, I picked up a few. Then it was just a matter of figuring out what to do with them. I was already leaning toward making this clambake. And then I ended up with an accidental surplus of potatoes and corn. And I already had some extra fennel left over that needed to be used up. So this recipe was pretty much perfect to use up those ingredients.

To do it properly, I really should've gotten live mussels and clams and some jumbo shrimp to throw in the pot. But I was trying to do this as a relatively affordable meal, so instead of getting live shellfish, I got some frozen, pre-cooked, in-shell clams, plus a bag of frozen mixed seafood that included squid, mussel meat, and a few teeny, tiny shrimp. Obviously, this wasn't as nice as doing it properly, but it was still very good. Especially the lobster!

Clambake

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel, chopped and fronds reserved
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)
• 1/2 tsp. Old Bay (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 1/2 c. white wine
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 450g small potatoes, quartered
• 450g kielbasa, sliced
• 1-2 lobsters (or 4 small lobster tails)
• 2 ears of corn, husked and quartered
• 24 mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 24 clams, scrubbed
• 12 large shrimp (preferably in-shell)
• lemon wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, fennel, and garlic and cook until softened (5-8 minutes).
3. Add the thyme, Old Bay (if using), and pepper and cook for another minute or two.
4. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half.
5. Add the chicken stock.
6. Add the potatoes, then layer the kielbasa on top.
7. Place the lobsters/lobster tails on top of everything, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Add the corn, mussels, clams, and shrimp.
9. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
10. Scoop out the solids and place in a serving dish.
11. Taste the broth and adjust seasonings as desired.
12. Pour broth into the serving dish with everything else.
13. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve with lemon wedges.

I picked up a copy of Pleyn Delit a couple of years ago. It's a great book full of medieval recipes. I've been wanting to try some out for ages, but I kept just not quite getting around to it. But, with our annual Labour Day get together this year, I finally found the motivation to give it a go!

I picked out a salad, a very interesting steamed chicken dish, and a poached pear recipe. And they were all excellent! This salad was so interesting. It's basically all greens. Lots and lots of herbs in addition to what I tend to think of as salad greens.

The original recipe called for parsely, sage, "green garlic", "chibolles" (which I would have assumed were chives, but the authors of Pleyn Delit indicate were actually green onions), onions, leeks, borage, mint, "porrettes" (small leeks), fennel, watercress, rue, rosemary, and purslane. These are washed, torn, and dressed with a simple combination of oil, vinegar, and salt.

The modern interpretation recommends making it with a combination of leaf lettuce, spinach, borage or radish leaves, watercress, parsley, sage, chives, fennel, mint, green onions, sweet onions and/or leeks, and savoury and/or tarragon. This made for a lovely mix! I loved all the herbs! It was very different, but absolutely delicious!

Original Recipe

Take persel, sawge, grene garlec, chibolles, oynouns, leek, borage, myntes, porrettes, fenel, and toun cressis, rew, rosemarye, purslrye; lave and waische hem clene. Pike hem. Pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt, and serve it forth.

Photo goes here.

Salat

Slightly adapted from Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler

Ingredients

• 2 handfuls of leaf lettuce
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 handful borage or radish leaves
• 1 handful of watercress¹
• 1 small bulb of fennel, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fennel fronds or dill
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives or garlic chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 1 tsp. fresh tarragon
• 1 tsp. fresh savoury (optional)
• 3-6 green onions, sliced
• 1 small Vidalia or red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 small leeks, very well washed and thinly sliced (optional)
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• ~1/4 c. vinegar (preferably red wine vinegar)
• ~1/2 Tbsp. salt
• freshly ground pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the lettuce, spinach, borage/radish leaves, watercress, fennel, parsley, fennel fronds/dill, chives/garlic chives, sage, mint, tarragon, savoury (if using), green onions, sweet onion, and leeks (if using).
2. Add the olive oil and toss to combine.
3. Have guests drizzle their portion of salad with a little of the vinegar and some of the salt and pepper (if using) at the table.
   

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¹ I will admit that I omitted both the borage and the watercress for my rendition. It was still delicious. But I'd love to try it with an even wider variety of greens sometime. ^Back

Pusstabrot (Hungarian White Bread)

This is a lovely white bread with a nice bit of extra flavour from the fennel seeds. I really liked it.

Pusstabrot

Slightly adapted from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 600-700g hard (strong/high grade/bread) flour, divided
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 c. hot (50-55°C) water
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp. water

Directions

1. Gently roast the fennel seeds in a small frying pan.
2. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely, then grind with a mortar and pestle.
3. Combine ~400g of the flour with the salt, sugar, and ground fennel.
4. Stir to combine, then make a well in the centre.
5. Pour the hot water and oil into the well and sprinkle in the yeast.
6. Use a wooden spoon to stir the liquids from the centre, gradually pulling in just enough of the flour to form a thin batter.
7. Cover and set aside until the batter rises to cover the rest of the flour (~1 hour).
8. Once the batter has risen, uncover and begin stirring from the centre outward, gradually working in the rest of the flour.
9. Work in a bit more flour (100-200g) to stop the dough from being too sticky.
10. Turn out the dough and knead until smooth and elastic (10-20 minutes), working in the rest of the flour as needed to form a soft and supple dough.
11. Round the dough and return it to a covered bowl to rise (~1 hour).
12. Knead the dough for a few strokes, then shape as desired. This recipe will make either one large or two small loaves.
13. Place the shaped loaves on a greased baking sheet, cover, and set asdie to rise for 30-40 minutes.
14. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and place a pan of boiling water on the bottom rack.
15. Beat the egg white with the water and a pinch of salt.
16. Brush the loaves with the egg white mixture and slash as desired.
17. Sprinkle with extra fennel seeds
18. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done. This may take anywhere from 20-50 minutes depending on whether you are baking one loaf or two and how well-risen they are.
19. Turn off oven, remove steam pan, and let loaves rest in hot oven for 5-10 minutes.
20. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Baked Rigatoni with Fennel, Sausage, and Peperonata

This was delicious! But I think it could have used more sausage. (And maybe a bit of spinach.)

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Peperonata

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g rigatoni
• 1 bulb fennel
• 450g Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 bell peppers, julienned (preferably all different colours)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar¹
• 1 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream²
• 150g baby spinach (optional)
• 250g fontina cheese, grated
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) and grease a 23x33cm lasagne pan.
2. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Remove and discard the core and stems from the fennel bulb. Dice the remaining bulb and set aside.
4. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the sausage.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
6. Add the fennel and cook until softened and beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
7. Add the sausage and fennel to the bowl with the pasta.
8. Add the bell peppers to the now-empty pan. Add a little oil if necessary, but the sausages released sufficient fat that I didn't need any for mine.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
10. Add the sugar and vinegar and keep cooking until vegetables are glazed.
11. Add the tomato sauce and cream to the peppers and cook until slightly thickened (~5 minutes).
12. Pour the peppers and sauce over the pasta, add the spinach (if using) and the fontina, and toss to combine.
13. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
14. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 10-15 minutes.

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¹ The recipe called for granulated sugar and red wine vinegar. I swapped out the white sugar for brown. But I used the red wine vinegar as specified. Having tasted it though, I'd be inclined to try balsamic next time. I think that'd be even better! ^Back
2 The recipe called for 1 c. of tomato sauce and 1 1/2 c. of cream. We had a bit of extra sauce though, so we just tossed it in. I'm not sure if it was a full extra half cup. It might've been more like 1/3 c. But... close enough. Meanwhile, after putting in just 1 c. of cream, the sauce looked both very rich and very pale already. So I opted to omit the extra half cup. If you wanted to make this dish a bit lighter, you could use half-and-half instead. (I normally would've done that. But the cream has been in the fridge for a while and needs to be used up.) ^Back

We've been on a bit of a shrimp and pasta kick lately. After six years of avoiding it due to suspected allergies, it's nice to finally be able to enjoy a bit of seafood again. And TF is a big fan of shrimp with pasta, so we've been leaning into that now that the shellfish ban has been lifted.

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Fennel

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 fennel bulb, cored and thinly sliced, fronds chopped and reserved separately
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1/4 tsp. red chile flakes
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 large (~800mL) can whole or diced tomatoes (preferably San Marzano)
• 1/4 c. kalamata olives (~15), pitted and quartered
• 3 Tbsp. dry white wine
• ~350g spaghetti (or other long pasta, preferably multi-grain or whole wheat)
• 350g raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Parmesan or pecorino Romano, to serve

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add fennel seeds and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
3. Add fennel bulb, onion, chile flakes, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, olives, and wine and cook until thickened slightly (5-8 minutes).
5. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions, reserving ~1 c. of the pasta cooking water before draining.
6. Add shrimp to sauce and cook until shrimp are just done (~3 minutes).
7. Add reserved pasta water to sauce and stir vigorously.
8. Add drained spaghetti and toss to combine.
9. Adjust seasoning to taste, top with reserved fennel fronds and Parmesan, and serve.

So, as I've probably stated before, I'm not generally a huge fan of fennel. But every once in a while I'll give it a go, just to see if this recipe pulls it off in a way that I actually enjoy. Usually I find that I still don't care for it. But every once in a while I'll fin a recipe that really nails it! I feel like this recipe falls into that latter camp. I don't think I'd call it a "favourite", but it was pretty good. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and I wouldn't hesitate to make it again, especially if I needed a way to use up some fennel.

Fennel-Crusted Chicken with Fennel Salad

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1/2 fennel bulb, shaved/thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fennel fronds
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. dry rosé wine¹
• 1/4 c. chicken stock
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)

Directions

1. Combine the fennel, pepper, salt, and chile flakes and coarsely grind.
2. Either pound the chicken breasts flat to form two wide flat pieces or bisect them horizontally to form four smaller thin pieces.
3. Warm 2 tsp. of the oil over medium-high heat.
4. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with the ground fennel mixture.
5. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides and cooked through (~4 minutes per side).
6. Combine the shaved fennel, chives, parsley, lemon juice, and remaining 1 tsp. of oil in a large bowl and toss to combine.
7. Season the fennel mixture to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
8. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm.
9. Meanwhile, combine the wine, chicken stock, and cornstarch and pour into the pan.
10. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, until reduced by half and slightly thickened (1-2 minutes).
11. Pour the pan juices over the chicken and top with the fennel salad and serve.

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¹ I didn't have any rosé, so I just used a dry white here. ^Back

I ended up taking a few liberties with this recipe. The original was written for a 650g boneless leg of lamb roast and was meant to be cooked entirely under the broiler. I ended up adapting it for a 2kg bone-in leg of lamb cooked on the "convection roast" setting in my oven. I feel it worked quite well overall and I would absolutely do it this way again.

I'm usually not a huge fan of fennel¹, but between the seasonings, the roasting, and the pan sauce/gravy... this fennel was actually pretty good!

Since I didn't figure the lamb and roasted fennel and onions would be sufficient to be a dinner on their own, I opted to serve them alongside some polenta with sautéed mushrooms and greens. I feel like this rounded out the meal nicely. (Although I think an additional vegetable side wouldn't have gone amiss either.) It made for a nice meal and TF and I both really liked the combination.

Leg of Lamb with Roasted Fennel & Onions

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. orange zest
• 1/4 c. minced fresh thyme (or 2 Tbsp. dried thyme)
• 1/4 c. minced shallot
• 4 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
• 3 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground, divided
• 2 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground, divided
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 bone-in leg of lamb (~2kg)
• 1 large fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
• 2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
• 1/3 c. dry vermouth
• 1/3 c. chicken stock
• 1-2 tsp. flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). Use "convection roast" setting if available.
2. Combine orange zest, thyme, shallot, and fennel seeds and mix well. Separate ~1/4 of the shallot mixture and set aside.
3. To the remaining (larger portion) of shallot mixture, add 1 Tbsp. of the salt, 2 tsp. of the pepper, and 2 Tbsp. of the olive oil and mix well.
4. Coat the lamb with the oily shallot mixture.
5. Roast at 220°C (425°F) for 20 minutes.
6. Reduce temperature to 180°C (350°F) and continue roasting for another 70-90 minutes (or until desired doneness is reached).
7. Meanwhile, toss the fennel and onion with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.
8. Separate 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture from the reserved portion and set aside.
9. Add the remaining shallot mixutre to the fennel and onions along with the remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and mix well.
10. Spread the veggies out on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking sheet.
11. When the lamb has ~20 minutes left, place the baking sheet with the veggies in the oven and roast until tender and beginning to brown. If the veggies are not quite browned enough by the time the lamb is ready to come out, move them to the uppermost position and turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
12. Once the lamb is done, transfer it to a serving platter.
13. Pour any juices from the roasting dish into a small pot and skim off as much fat as possible.
14. Pour the vermouth into the empty roasting dish and scrape the bottom to deglaze. Add this mixture to the pot.
15. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until reduced slightly.
16. Add the reserved 1 Tbsp. of shallot mixture and stir to combine.
17. Whisk the flour into the chicken stock, pour into the pot, and continue cooking until slightly thickened.
18. Pass the pan sauce at the table to be drizzled over both the lamb and the roasted veggies.
19. Serve with roasted potatoes and/or polenta and additional vegetable sides if desired.

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¹ As a vegetable, I mean. I like fennel seeds as a seasoning. I'm just not crazy about fennel bulbs most of the time. ^Back

I'm not a huge fan of fennel, but I still like to try out fennel recipes every once in a while. You never know if this might be the recipe that changes your mind about a particular ingredient. So, I gave this recipe a go. (Although I did cut back on the fennel somewhat.)

Sadly, I don't think this recipe has changed my opinion of fennel. It wasn't bad. The fish was very nice. But it's breaded, fried fish... what's not to like? But the fennel compote left me cold. I didn't hate it, but I couldn't help feeling like it was detracting from my enjoyment of the fish. So, all-in-all, probably not a recipe that I'll be revisiting. But, at least now I know. And I can check one more fennel recipe off my list.

Breaded Sole with Fennel Compote

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 large fennel bulb, cored and sliced thin
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground and divided
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground and divided
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c. white wine
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/4 c. oil
• 1 large egg
• 1-2 Tbsp. milk
• 1/8 tsp. hot sauce
• 1 c. panko
• 1/4 c. flour
• ~750g sole fillets
• 2-3 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add the fennel slices, half of the salt, and half of the pepper.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned (~4 minutes).
4. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, wine, and sugar.
5. Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel is very tender (~7 minutes). Keep warm while fish cooks.
6. Heat the 1/4 c. of oil over medium heat.
7. Beat the egg with the milk, hot sauce, and remaining salt and pepper and place in a wide, shallow bowl.
8. Combine the panko and flour and place on a large plate (or another wide, shallow bowl).
9. Dip the fish in the egg to completely coat.
10. Working with one fillet at a time, dip in the breadcrumbs to completely coat, then transfer to the hot pan. Repeat with remaining fish. You may have to cook it in batches if your pan is not large enough. Add up to another 2 Tbsp. of oil as needed during cooking.
11. Cook until the breading is golden-brown on both sides and fish is cooked through (3-4 minutes per side).
12. Serve fish topped with fennel and garnished with parsley.

This was phenomenal! I mean, it was really, incredibly, unreasonably good. The chicken was delicious, but the veggies and the pan drippings really stole the show. And it used up a bunch of ingredients that really needed to be used. So... bonus!

I don't cook whole chickens very often. (Usually only when my parents have given us one.) And I've only cooked a spatchcocked chicken once. And I've never done the spatchcocking myself before today. It went pretty smoothly in the end. Although this has convinced me that I need some proper kitchen shears and not just the scissors that came with this knife set. I also couldn't get the wing tips to stay tucked under the breasts like I was supposed to. In the end, I decided to just cut them off and toss them in the InstantPot along with the spine and all the vegetable scraps. I figured if they weren't going to cooperate, they might as well enrich the stock.

I didn't have any fresh thyme, so I ended up tinkering with the spice rub a little bit. It's still pretty much the same. The main issue is that swapping out the fresh thyme for dried changes the proportions a bit since you only need ~1/3 as much dried thyme as fresh. It still worked out amazingly well though, so I'm okay with the altered proportions. (I also decided to use a mix of sweet and hot paprika since I didn't have any smoked. Follow your heart as to which paprika is best for you!)

Cast Iron Chicken and Vegetables

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2021

Ingredients

Spice Rub

• 4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 tsp. granulated garlic
• 2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 tsp. paprika (smoked, hot, sweet, or a mix)

Chicken and Vegetables

• 450g potatoes¹
• 1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs², trimmed and cut into wedges
• 1 red onion, peeled and cut into wedges
• 225g carrots, peeled and halved crosswise³
• 1 (1.4-1.8kg) chicken
• 2 Tbsp. oil, divided

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. spice rub

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Combine all the ingredients for the spice rub and set aside.
3. Prep all your veggies. Keep the potatoes separate and submerge them in cold water to stop them from oxidizing.
4. Place the chicken breast-side-down and cut along both sides of the spine with kitchen shears. (You can use the spine for making soup/stock.)
5. Flip the chicken over and press it flat.
6. Tuck the wing tips under the breast. Cut them off if they won't stay put.
7. Make a cut ~1cm deep between the leg and the thigh.
8. Flip the chicken breast-side-down, and sprikle with ~1 Tbsp. of the spice mixture.
9. Filp it back over and drizzle the skin side with 1 Tbsp. of the oil. Then sprinkle with ~5 tsp. of the spice mixture.
10. Heat a large (30cm/12") cast iron pan over medium heat for 5 minutes. (Less if using induction.)
11. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the pan.
12. Place the potatoes in the pan, cut-side-down.
13. Add the carrots, fennel, and onion to the pan, trying to get as much pan contact as possible.
14. Sprinkle ~1 tsp. of the spice rub over the veggies.
15. Place the chicken on top of the veggies.
16. Transfer the pan to the oven and roast at 220°C (425°F) until chicken is done (~1 hour).
17. Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
18. Remove the chicken from the pan and return the veggies to the oven for another 15 minutes.
19. Either carve the chicken, top with sauce, and serve with veggies or return the chicken to the pan and drizzle the sauce over it, then carve and serve.

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¹ The recipe calls for small Yukon Gold potatoes no more than 3 or 4cm in diameter which are then cut in half. I already had a bunch of potatoes that needed to be used up, so I wasn't about to go out and buy more. I used the large potatoes and just cut them into eighths instead of halves. This seemed to work out just fine. The potatoes were beyond delicious! ^Back
2 The recipe calls for a 450g bulb of fennel and mentions that you should be adding 250g of fennel wedges to the pan after trimming. ^2
3 If your carrots are very large, you will likely want to halve them lengthwise as well. ^Back

I found this recipe a bit tricky to work with. There were no instructions given, just a chart of ingredients and their weights. I'm pretty okay with that most of the time. I know how to make bread. So I just mixed it by my preferred method, autolysing the flour, making the dough, and then working in the inclusions between the bulk ferment and the shaping.

My bread turned out okay in the end, but getting there was a bit hairy.

The dough started out incredibly stiff. But since others had complained of the dough getting too wet and sloppy once the fennel got mixed in, I figured this would be okay. I didn't bother soaking the raisins, but instead let them sit in the colander with the blanched fennel to soak up some of the extra moisture there. This seemed to work reasonably well, so I was feeling pretty good about my decisions up to this point. But then, my dough still got very wet and threatened to fall apart once I started mixing the inclusions in.

I ended up adding a 1/4 c. of gluten flour just to try to hold everything together. This seems to have worked out okay, but there was definitely a point when I thought I was just going to end up with an unfortunate wheat slurry.

I'm wondering if maybe next time I should try to work the fennel in from the get-go. Or perhaps just reduce the quantity of inclusions: 250g of inclusions is A LOT when you're not even using 400g of flour!

I'm not going to bother writing out instructions for this loaf since the person who posted it didn't provide any and my method didn't work so great. Feel free to experiment with your own breadmaking techniques. (And possibly tweak the recipe slightly.)

Fennel-Raisin-Pine Nut Sourdough

Slightly adapted from Sourdough Companion

Ingredients

• 80g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour
• 90g all-purpose flour
• 85g fine semolina flour
• 25g cornmeal
• 30g gluten (vital wheat) flour
• 122g water
• 165g fed (active/ripe) sourdough starter at 100% hydration
• 5g coarse sea salt
• 45g pine nuts
• 150g thinly sliced and chopped fresh fennel, blanched and drained
• 60g golden raisins

I love this bread! It is so, so good! The crust is perfect, the crumb is just right, the flavour is excellent. It's easy to adjust the inclusions to your taste. And the timing is pretty laid back.

The first time I made it, I made it with dried cranberries and slivered almonds and followed the proportions given in the original recipe. The second time I opted for dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds to make it school safe and upped the hydration a little bit. I also played around with the timing and hydrations levels in the starter/preferment. I think the first preferment worked better, but the higher hydration in the second batch was an improvement.

Fruit and Seed Semolina Sourdough

Slightly adapted from Sourdough.com

Ingredients

First Preferment

• 13g starter (100% hydration)
• 26g hard (strong/bread/high grade) whole wheat flour
• 26mL water

Second Preferment

• first preferment
• 83g hard whole wheat flour
• 83mL water

Dough

• 230g fine semolina flour
• 233g hard whole wheat flour
• 275mL water
• second preferment
• 10g coarse sea salt
• 1g malt syrup mixed w/ 10g flour
• 22g olive oil
• 7g fennel seeds
• 70g nuts and/or seeds of your choice
• 110g dried cranberries

Directions

Morning or early afternoon of Day 1

1. Combine the starter, flour, and water for the first preferment and mix very well.
2. Let stand, loosely covered, at room temperature for 4-8 hours. (4 hours for warmer rooms, 8 hours for cooler.)

Evening of Day 1

1. Add the flour and water for the second preferment to the first one and mix very well.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the semolina flour, whole wheat flour, and water for the dough and mix until combined.
3. Loosely cover both containers and let stand at room temperature overnight (8-12 hours depending on room temperature).

Morning of Day 2

1. Add the preferment to the flour-water mixture and fold/knead it in.
2. Work in the salt and malt-flour mixture as well.
3. Cover and let stand at room temperature for one hour.
4. Add the olive oil and fennel seeds to the dough and stretch and fold it/knead the dough until the new ingredients have been incorporated. (It's okay if they're not evenly distributed at this point.)
5. Flip the dough over, cover, and let stand for another hour.
6. Add your preferred nuts and seeds and work them in as above.
7. Turn the dough over again, cover, and let stand for another hour.
8. Add the cranberries (or other dried fruit) and work it in as above. (One again, it's okay if things are a little uneven at this point.)
9. Flip the dough, cover, and let stand for an hour.
10. If the dough seems lively and light at this point, you may proceed with shaping. If not stretch it and fold it again and return it to its covered bowl for another hour. Keep repeating the hourly stretching process until the dough has reached a good level of activity. This may take 8 hours or more in a cool room.

Afternoon/Evening of Day 2

1. Once the dough is pleasantly airy and supple, place it on a lightly floured surface and press it flat.
2. Fold the dough into thrids (like a letter) and press it down a bit again.
3. Roll it up jelly-roll style, starting from a short side to form a loaf.
4. Place the loaf in a floured banneton, cover, and chill for 8-12 hours.

Morning of Day 3

1. If dough was still sluggish before shaping, allow the loaf to stand at room temperature for an hour or two before baking.
2. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
3. Grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it with cornmeal.
4. Boil a few cups of water.
5. Carefully turn the loaf out onto the prepared baking sheet.
6. Lightly brush the surface with water and sprinkle with a bit of cornmeal if desired.
7. Once the oven is preheated, slash the loaf as desired.
8. Pour several cups of boiling water into a large pan and place it on the bottom oven rack.
9. Bake the bread on a rack set above the pan of boiling water.
10. Bake at 230°C (450°F) for 15 minutes.
11. After 15 minutes, carefully remove the pan of boiling water and reduce the temperature to 180°C (350°F).
12. Continue baking for another 20-30 minutes.
13. When loaf looks and smells done, remove it from the oven and tap the underside. If it sounds hollow it's done, otherwise return it to the oven for another 5-10 minutes.
14. Once loaf sounds hollow when tapped, turn off the oven. Leave the loaf in the warm oven for 10 minutes.
15. Remove bread from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

I have a bunch of other recipes to write up, but I'm doing this one right away because I took a lot of liberties with the recipe and I don't want to forget what I did. I don't normally use a recipe for stock, I pretty much just put a bunch of things in a pot, add water and heat, and wait for it to become delicious. That method has always worked pretty well for me. And it's a great way to use up odd bits of stuff and vegetable peels. I actually made an amazing stock a few months ago that was pretty much just leftover chicken bones, onion, garlic, vegetable peels, and some spices. I honestly wish I'd done a write-up for that one. It ended up being one of the best stocks I've ever made. But I should stop reminiscing about that stock and start talking about this stock. This stock is (loosely) based on a recipe out of Offal Good. As I said, I made quite a few modifications to make it fit what I had avaialbe, but it's still inspired by their recipe.

The original recipe is for veal stock. It calls for veal knuckles, onion, carrot, celery, fennel, garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, black pepper, coriander seeds, fresh parsley, and thyme. I didn't have veal knuckles, but I did have some beef soup bones that needed using, so I used them! I didn't have any fennel either, so I just tossed in some fennel seeds instead. I did have tomato paste, but I also had some fire-roasted diced tomatoes sitting in the fridge that needed to be used, so I swapped them in. The tomato paste is more concentrated and was meant to be added to the vegetables for roasting. Hopefully the larger volume and fire-roasting helps make up for the less concentrated flavour. I also tossed in a small amount of cilantro, mostly because I had it and I figured it would complement the coriander seeds.

The other big change with this recipe is that I was making it after grilling some short ribs. The ribs were braised for a couple hours first and then grilled and basted with a barbecue sauce made from some of the braising liquid. Afterward I filled a roasting pan with soup bones and vegetables and poured the leftover braising liquid over them. I roasted everything together until the veggies were tender and delicious and the liquid had cooked down to a delicious glaze. We ate most of the roasted veggies with dinner, but the soup bones and glaze went into the pot for stock. Then, instead of roasting more veggies for the stock, I just put raw ones into the pot. Maybe the broth won't be quite as flavourful that way, but I'm hoping that the glaze and roasted bones will make up for it. It certainly smells like it's going to be a delicious stock!

Veal/Beef Stock

Adapted from Offal Good by Chris Cosentino

Ingredients

• 2kg beef or veal bones¹
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 carrot, cut into large chunks
• 2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
• 2-6 cloves garlic²
• 2L water
• 2 c. diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Roast your soup bones. I roasted mine on the barbecue with a whole mess of veggies, garlic, scallion oil, and some leftover braising liquid from cooking short ribs. If you're not doing any of that, then just roast them in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for ~45 minutes.
2. Dump your roasted soup bones into a pot. (I like using the InstantPot for this, but a regular pot on the stove works too.)
3. Optional: You may also roast your veggies if desired. Half an hour at 180°C (350°F) should do the trick. If you're using tomato paste, rather than diced tomatoes, toss the veggies with it before roasting. Otherwise, leave the tomatoes out until you're adding everything to the pot.
4. Add (optionally roaste) veggies to the pot with the roasted bones.
5. Add water, tomatoes (if using), bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, fennel, parsley, cilantro (if using), thyme, and salt.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for at least 8 hours.
7. Cool, strain, and discard solids.
8. Stock may be frozen for future use. I like to freeze mine in ice cube trays to have easy portions available as needed.

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¹ I'm not sure exactly how many soup bones I had, but I think it was probably ~2kg give or take. ^Back
2 I only added two cloves of garlic to the stock because I'd already added six cloves to the braising liquid for the ribs and a further nine to the roasting pan when cooking the veggies. Now, some of that garlic ended up in the barbecue sauce and some ended up getting eaten with dinner, but there was still a lot of garlic-y goodness in the soup bones and the glaze that went into the pot with them, so I felt pretty comfortable going light on the garlic in the pot. If you're making this fresh, without the benefit of braising liquid/glaze/etc., then I'd recommend tossing at least five or six cloves of garlic in the pot. ^Back

I'm not really awake enough to do a proper write-up for this right now. It's a quiche. It uses a mix of whole eggs and egg whites to lighten it up a bit, both in mouthfeel and calories. It's easy and tasty. You can have a generous portion without guilt. And it's actually got a good amount of protein in it. Win.

CrustlessAppleand Roasted Fennel Quiche

From some "healthy living" calendar I got as a freebie at the grocery store

Ingredients

• 3 c. diced fennel
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 eggs
• 6 egg whites
• 1 c. skim milk
• 1 apple, grated (do not peel)
• 1/2 c. grated low-fat Swiss cheese

Directions

1. Toss diced fennel in 1 Tbsp. canola oil and season with 1/8 tsp. pepper.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and roast fennel for 25 minutes at 400°F.
3. Sauté the onion in the remaining Tbsp. canola oil until softened. Set aside.
4. Whisk together eggs and egg whites.
5. Add milk and remaining 1/8 tsp. pepper to egg mixture.
6. Add roasted fennel, sautéed onions, grated apple, and cheese and stir to combine.
7. Transferto a greased deep-dish pie pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (at 400°F).

One Pan Pork Chop Dinner

Ingredients

• 4 (~300g) bone in, center cut pork chops
• 80mL olive oil
• pepper and coarse salt
• 5mL paprika
• 5mL ground coriander
• 500g yukon gold potatoes, skins on, halved lengthwise and then cut crosswise into 1cm slices
• 500g carrots, peeled and cut into 7cm lengths, thick ends quartered
• 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored, and cut into 1cm wedges
• 10 garlic cloves, peeled
• 10mL minced fresh rosemary
• 30mL minced fresh parsley
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 20mL red wine vinegar
• 1mL sugar

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and preheat to 450F.
2. Combine 10mL salt, 5mL pepper, paprika, and coriander in a small bowl.
3. Rub pork chops with oil and season all over with spice mix; set aside.
4. Toss potatoes, carrots, fennel, garlic, and rosemary with 15mL oil, 5mL salt, and 1mL pepper.
5. Spread vegetables in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until just tender, ~25 minutes.
6. Place pork chops on top of vegetables and return to oven until cooked through and vegetables fully tender, ~10-15 minutes. Rotate halfway through cooking.
7. Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallot, vinegar, sugar, 2mL salt, 1mL pepper, and remaining oil. Whisk together and drizzle over pork chops and vegetables. Serve.

Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Chickpeas

I loved the lemoniness of this. Would definitely cut the fennel smaller next time though. The "wedges that don't fall apart" proved quite awkward to eat.

Chicken Thighs with Fennel and Chickpeas
Slightly adapted from Cook's Country April/May 2016
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, cut into wedges (would core and slice next time)
3 Tbsp. garlic paste
juice of 1 lemon + 2 tsp. zest
1 1/2 tsp. coriander, ground (or 1 tsp. ground coriander)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 (15 oz.) tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 c. large, pitted, brine-cured green olives, cut in half
~2 c. broth (I used a mix of chicken and vegetable)
2 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
1 baguette, sliced

1. Season chicken with 1 tsp. salt and pepper. (Next time I might add a little cayenne as well.)
2. Heat oil in ovensafe skillet (we had to use a pot) over medium-high heat. Cook chicken until well-browned on one side (8-10 minutes). Transfer to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add fennel and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, covered, until browned (3-5 minutes per side.)
4. Add garlic, lemon zest, coriander, and pepper flakes and cook, uncovered until fragrant (~1 minute).
5. Stir in wine. Cook until almost evaporated (2 minutes).
6. Stir in olives, broth, lemon juice, honey, and chickpeas and bring to a simmer. Nestle chicken into liquid.
7. Transfer to oven and bake, uncovered, until chicken registers 175F (~15 minutes).
8. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with baguette slices.

Pasta with Turkey and Fennel

I tweaked this a bit because I'm traveling right now and didn't want to buy a whole container of fennel seed for just one meal. I decided to try slicing up a fennel bulb and using that instead and I'm really pleased with how it came out. I feel like it might make it very slightly healthier as well since you're getting a bit more veg that way too.

Pasta with Turkey and Fennel
Adapted from realsimple
350g whole wheat pasta
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey (I used 2% fat ground turkey breast)
3-4 cloves garlic
1 bulb fennel, sliced
generous dash cayenne
sea salt
black pepper
Parmesan

1. Boil pasta until al dente, adding broccoli for the last minute of cooking. Drain and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium heat. Add turkey and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne breaking up and cooking until browned.
3. Remove turkey from pan. Add another Tbsp. of oil. Add garlic, fennel, and a bit more cayenne and pepper. Cook until done.
4. Add fennel, turkey, and remaining Tbsp. of oil to pot with drained pasta and broccoli. Toss to combine. Top with grated Parmesan and serve with a salad on the side.