Today’s Recipe of the Day is Potatoes and Fennel Seeds, a delicious winter side dish, economical, and very easy to prepare! The pan-fried potatoes with onion and fennel seeds make a tasty side dish perfect for accompanying winter main courses of meat or fish.
I decided to prepare the potatoes and onion in a pan after my trip to Malta. During dinner at Il Merill, we enjoyed this side dish with fennel seeds and white onion as a complement to the lamb shank. A true delight and a great discovery, I had never tasted potatoes with onions and fennel seeds, fundamentally a very simple and economical dish that I had never experienced before.
We all know the recipe for pan-fried potatoes, some add garlic and some add onion. I was part of the first group until I discovered the onion variant. I definitely prefer them with onions now. Few people add fennel seeds, my father was astonished, and I think others of you will be too, though you might not admit it. However, everyone agrees on the pair potatoes and rosemary in a pan, an ingredient which is excluded here. We do not, however, skip salt, a pinch, and black pepper, also a pinch. Use a good extra virgin olive oil, and the recipe is practically written in these lines.
I don’t know what Grandma Sandra might think of the potatoes and onions in a pan. I’ll ask her tomorrow, but I’m sure neither she nor Grandma Licia, or even my mother Roberta, ever prepared potatoes with fennel seeds in a pan.
In all these years of blogging, in April I celebrated 12 years of sharing recipes with you, I have prepared numerous potato recipes, from potatoes with yogurt sauce to potato and cheese gratin. From the delicious potato frittata, as prepared by Aunt Antonietta, to the latest additions celebrating the Oktoberfest, namely Bavarian Potatoes with foil, the famous Ofenkartoffeln! If you want to try one or more of these recipes, I leave clickable links below. Choose the recipe, click on the blue link, and you will find yourself on the page of the chosen recipe!
Before moving on to the recipe for pan-fried potatoes with onion and fennel seeds, I remind you that you can become followers of the social channels of the blog Le Ricette di Bea so as not to miss any new recipes or other content from my kitchen! Facebook page by clicking here, Instagram profile by clicking here, Pinterest board by clicking here, YouTube channel with other video recipes by clicking here!
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 2 people
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
- Energy 277.76 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.40 (g) of which sugars 2.49 (g)
- Proteins 5.95 (g)
- Fat 11.04 (g) of which saturated 1.45 (g)of which unsaturated 1.26 (g)
- Fibers 8.65 (g)
- Sodium 409.28 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 200 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for Potatoes and Fennel Seeds:
- 3 potatoes (in my case yellow and medium-sized)
- 1 white onion
- to taste fennel seeds
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
Useful Tools for the Recipe Potatoes in Pan:
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Pan
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Potato peeler
- 1 Lid
- 1 Kitchen towel
- 2 Plates
Steps for Potatoes and Fennel Seeds Recipe:
As you can see from the video recipe, which you find below the initial photo, the preparation of the potatoes with fennel seeds in a pan is truly very, very simple. Few ingredients, three main tools, cutting board, knife, and pan for the cooking. In short, a delicious, tasty, economical, and easy-to-prepare winter side dish.
Let’s start together by following these steps. Take the potatoes and wash them under the cold water tap. Dry them with kitchen paper or a dish towel. Place them on a wooden cutting board and cut them into medium-sized cubes with a knife without serration. This will allow us to stay within the 40 minutes of cooking required for this recipe.
Now take the white onion, remove the two ends and the skin. Slice the onion into rings. Keep everything aside on two small plates. Now that the basic ingredients are ready, we can proceed with the cooking.
Take a non-stick pan and pour some extra virgin olive oil inside. Do not be afraid to overdo it with the oil; potatoes need a large amount of oil when cooking in a pan. Add the sliced onion to the pan and let it soften.
When the onion is golden, add the potatoes. Increase the flame’s intensity and quickly mix with a wooden spatula or spoon. If you want to order the wooden spatula with the Le Ricette di Bea logo, you can write it in the comments, social media chats, or via messenger. I will be glad to provide you with all the information and note your address to proceed with the shipment. Let it cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. This will create a crispy crust on the pan-fried potatoes.
And the seeds? It’s indeed time to add the fennel seeds; the quantity is up to you. The more you increase the dose, the more the aroma will be noticeable both during cooking and in the final result. Our side dish with potatoes and fennel seeds should smell of fennel but not excessively and cloyingly. I added about thirty seeds, which guaranteed me both the flavor and the aroma I desired.
Now lower the flame to the minimum and continue cooking for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally or tossing as I do; you can see it in the video recipe. Why is tossing better than stirring? Because it prevents the potatoes from breaking and falling apart. In fact, after the first twenty minutes of cooking, we will cover the pan with a lid and let it go for another 20 minutes. This time you should completely forget about the spatula or the wooden spoon. Or if you really can’t toss, be gentle with the potatoes.
When about 15 minutes have passed in the second part of the cooking, that is, with the lid, it will be time to sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Taste the potatoes and onion to see if it is necessary to add more fennel seeds. If I could somehow let you smell the aroma in my kitchen, I would do so; I can only show you my joy after tasting the potatoes with onion in a pan. What a true delight! All that’s left is to serve this delicious and flavorful side dish suitable for all your favorite main courses! I remind you that I am waiting for you on social channels with many recipes and other food and not only content from my kitchen. I wish you a good appetite!
Recipe Variations:
The variations you can make to this recipe, in my opinion, are two:
– Oven cooking, at 350°F for about 40 minutes with parchment paper and extra virgin olive oil;
– Add rosemary and garlic; if you think about it, we almost always prepare oven or pan potatoes with garlic and rosemary, so if you want, you can add these two ingredients to the recipe.
Storage of Potatoes and Fennel Seeds:
You can store the potatoes with fennel seeds and onions in a plastic container for the refrigerator with a lid. Just let them cool completely before storing them for two to three days maximum. Otherwise, you can freeze them in the freezer.
