If you think fennel is an unexciting vegetable associated only with strict diets, mediterranean baked fennel will change your mind immediately. Over the years, I’ve experimented with many fennel recipes, both raw and cooked, discovering how versatile they are and how well they pair with a wide range of ingredients. Among these, baking is one of the techniques that best enhances this vegetable: the heat dries the fennel, slightly caramelizes the surface, and intensifies its flavor, as happens with orange-roasted fennel or gratinated fennel. In mediterranean fennel, the addition of cherry tomatoes—which also undergo an inviting caramelization—along with Tropea red onion, a pinch of oregano, and some olives, creates a side dish rich in flavor, great even when enjoyed cold. By increasing the portions, this preparation transforms into a perfect vegetarian main dish, ideal for a light and flavorful dinner. Preparing them is really simple and takes just over 10 minutes: the oven will do the rest. With this recipe, baked fennel is dressed in Mediterranean flavors, ready to bring to the table a harmony of taste that will conquer everyone.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 130.99 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 10.56 (g) of which sugars 11.23 (g)
- Proteins 3.31 (g)
- Fat 8.00 (g) of which saturated 1.09 (g)of which unsaturated 0.51 (g)
- Fibers 5.26 (g)
- Sodium 159.00 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 187 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 Mediterranean Fennel
- 2 fennel bulbs (about 2 lbs)
- 12.3 oz cherry tomatoes
- 1.76 oz Tropea red onion
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch oregano
- to taste pepper
- 0.7 oz taggiasca olives (pitted)
Tools
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Baking tray
- Parchment paper
How to Prepare Baked Fennel with Cherry Tomatoes and Olives
To prepare Mediterranean baked fennel, start by washing and drying the fennel bulbs. Remove the stalks and cut them in half. Then, placing them on the cutting board cut-side down, slice them into wedges about 0.1 inches thick (1). When you reach the base with the core, remove it with a knife. Wash and dry the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half (2).
Slice the onion into rings, not too thin, and separate them to distribute better in the tray (3). Line the baking tray with parchment paper. Arrange the fennel, cherry tomatoes (cut side up), and onion rings (4).
Season with a pinch of salt, a dash of pepper, and a pinch of oregano. Add the pitted olives and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (5). Bake the Mediterranean fennel in a preheated oven at 356°F (fan-forced) for 30-40 minutes. Cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the fennel slices, so it’s always good to keep an eye on them during the last few minutes of cooking. When the fennel is tender and golden, remove it from the oven (6) and let it cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
In my opinion, Mediterranean baked fennel is best enjoyed at room temperature or cold, especially as the weather warms up. They can be a great side dish or vegetarian main course.
Storage
You can store Mediterranean fennel in the refrigerator for a couple of days, sealed in an airtight container.
Tips and Variations
For this recipe, I used taggiasca olives, but if you have Gaeta olives available, which are a bit larger and more fleshy, they are even more suitable for this recipe.
