An irresistible introduction to the wonders of fennel and a nice break from standard winter vegetables. Adapted from Ina Garten on foodnetwork.com.
Ingredients
- 2 large fennel bulbs
- 1/4 cup good olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/8 teaspoon table salt)
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 lemon (optional)
- Parmesan shavings
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cut the stems off the fennel and trim the bottoms of the bulbs. Shave off any brown spots on the outside of the bulbs. Slice the bulbs in half lengthwise. With the cut side down, slice each half vertically into 1/2-inch-thick slices, cutting right through the core.
- In a mixing bowl, toss fennel slices with olive oil, salt and pepper to coat. Spread the fennel slices on a baking sheet (you can also toss the fennel directly on the baking sheet).
- Roast the fennel slices for 45 minutes to an hour, turning them once after 30 minutes, until the edges are crisp and brown.
- Remove from the oven and taste for salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon over, if using. Cover with Parmesan shavings and serve.
Notes
- I reduced the salt from the original recipe, as mine turned out a bit too salty. I thought I’d leave it to you to add more salt as needed after cooking, especially since the Parmesan adds saltiness to the dish as well.
- I use a vegetable peeler to shave the Parmesan. You can use a thin, sharp knife as well, but the vegetable peeler makes for thinner, curlier shavings.
Here’s a link back to the post and pictures.
