Sunday Dinner with Gene Cane

Caramelized Fennel and Onion with Lemon and Parmesan

I am always looking for some fun and tasty and easy side dishes. Combining flavors and textures. Adding a little taste surprise to a meal.

We are going to post some ideas for Holiday meals in the coming posts.
Fennel is something I did not grow up eating, I mean the bulb vegetable variety. So, fennel is not part of my family standard vegetables, that means we get to play with for a Sunday Dinner.

Fennel is a white bulbous vegetable sprouting long green stalks with lacey feathery leaves resembling dill. The flavor is akin to anise or licorice and becomes sweeter when cooked. Though it most resembles an onion it is actually part of the carrot family. I use a peeler to pare the outer bulb, many say to remove and discard the outer layer but doing that will lose a considerable part of your bulb, the outer layer is the thickest part. If it has a few brown spots, they go away with a peeler and you have more fennel to cook with. Also, I do not cut away the core either. Do cut off the woody root end. The celery like stalks can be used as well, in sauces and such, don’t eat those raw.

I have been playing with thinly slices fennel, caramelizing it with some onion. It takes a little time to caramelize but the deep flavors are worth it. Adding shaved parmesan cheese, a squeeze of lemon and chopped parsley finishes off this tasty, earthy side dish. I also reserve a bit of the feathery dill like frowns to chop and sprinkle over the dish

Fennel can be eater cooked or raw, it is wonderful addition to salads when raw or soups, sauces or stews and is delicious when roasted. Whichever you prepare your fennel, keep in mind, it loves citrus, when cooking I use lemon, when serving raw, like in a salad, orange or grapefruit is what to use as the predominant flavor in the dressing.

Ingredients
4 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced, trimmed, reserve 1 tbsp of the feathery leaves
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
Zest of one lemon, minced
3 tbsp butter
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tsp salt

Using a skillet, not non stick, melt butter over medium low heat. Add fennel and onion and cook without stirring. Leave the fennel and onions alone for 8-10 minutes, add salt and stir, leaving alone another 10 minutes, add zest and allow to cook slowly undisturbed keeping an eye on the skillet. Stirring too often will not allow for the browning caramelization. If the pan begins to dry out, add a bit more butter. As the mixture begins to brown, stir and allow to continue to brown watching and lightly stirring 5-7 minutes. Off heat add parmesan and lemon juice and toss to combine. Top with chopped parsley and fennel leaves for serving.