The season for Fennel runs from Autumn to Spring, we’re almost at the end of it before they become woody. Let’s take advantage of this last period to try new recipes. In this case, Sweet and Sour Baked Fennel with soy sauce, honey, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and salt.
A side dish you will fall in love with just from the aroma during cooking. Golden, crispy fennel exuding scents reminiscent of the East. From soy to honey, passing through our extra virgin olive oil. Easy to prepare, perfect with meat or fish main courses and especially delicious thanks to that creamy texture you get during cooking. I’m already hungry, and you?! What are you waiting for to try them???
If you’ve been following the blog @lericettedibea for some time, you know that every year I try to start liking a vegetable or a plant. I’ve been doing this since 2009, the first year and first time for me in Kenya. Having the possibility to go to the supermarket or to Grandma Sandra’s or Uncle Mauro’s vegetable garden is a great fortune that we Westerners underestimate. Finding vegetables, fruits, and much more available every day all year round is something we don’t fully appreciate, whether for better or for worse, we are very superficial from this point of view. So from that first trip to Africa, I decided and promised that I would learn to eat everything, during the seasonal period and then stop.
I thus started a long journey in which I learned to eat chickpeas, peas, eggplants, artichokes, lentils, and the same fennel I propose to you today. I still have beans, which are a tough nut to crack. A vegetable or plant throughout the year. Starting with easy recipes, for example with chickpeas I started with Hummus which I now literally adore up to Falafel.
As a Food Blogger and passionate about cooking, I must say that I had closed the door on a very interesting and delicious Vegetable World to myself; think that I didn’t eat any of these ingredients and therefore didn’t even prepare dishes and recipes with them as protagonists. So I decided to grow, to evolve, and to become more and more aware of the choices I make every day, even in my diet, to respect our ecosystem.
Since last year I have faced the Fennel Challenge. I started with rolled fennel with speck or raw cooked in the oven, then fennel salads with orange or apple and walnuts until last week. I found it interesting to prepare baked fennel by adding a homemade sweet and sour sauce. Thus, you will find both the recipe for my sweet and sour sauce and the preparation method for baked fennel.
I hope you like this easy, quick and delicious recipe perfect for two people, a side dish to serve from October to all of April, roughly the fennel season. You can serve baked fennel with all the main courses you can think of, from meat to fish.
Below, I also leave you other recipes you can prepare with fennel, easy and economical. You’ll also find another version of the sweet and sour sauce that you can use to dress some shrimp with galbanino. I also remind you that I look forward to seeing you every morning in the group and on the Facebook fan page of Le Ricette di Bea with the Recipe of the Day and many other food contents live from my kitchen. In the box below the recipe, you will find all the links to the blog’s social profiles!!! I’m waiting for you!!!
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 250.89 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 16.97 (g) of which sugars 16.86 (g)
- Proteins 4.28 (g)
- Fat 18.68 (g) of which saturated 2.67 (g)of which unsaturated 0.01 (g)
- Fibers 4.45 (g)
- Sodium 1,348.63 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 250 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 Sweet and Sour Fennel Recipe
- 2 fennel bulbs (medium-large)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vinegar (if you don't like it, double the lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pinch salt
- to taste parsley (finely chopped or dried parsley)
Few ingredients, all to be worked with a spoon, just one bowl, one tray, and an oven, easier than this!
Tools for Baked Fennel with Sweet and Sour Sauce
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Baking Tray
- 1 Parchment Paper
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Knife
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Teaspoon
- 1 Colander
- 1 Oven
- 1 Paper Towel
- 1 Fork
Steps for the Sweet and Sour Baked Fennel Recipe
First thing to do: turn on the oven with static mode at a maximum of 360 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. The preparation of this recipe is very quick, and we need to give the oven time to reach the correct cooking temperature for the sweet and sour fennel.
Let’s start the preparation of this side dish with baked fennel by cleaning the fennel bulbs. So, let’s take a wooden cutting board and a knife without serration. Remove the fronds and the base of each fennel. Now cut into slices about 0.4 inches thick. Rinse the fennel under the faucet using a colander, being careful not to break the fennel slices.
Pat the slices dry with a kitchen paper towel, placing them on a tray with a sheet of parchment paper. Now let’s prepare the sweet and sour sauce.
Take a small bowl and pour inside: two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, two tablespoons of soy sauce (if you have it better without salt), two teaspoons of honey, one teaspoon of white vinegar, and one teaspoon of lemon juice. As indicated in the list, if you don’t like vinegar or don’t have it, you can substitute this ingredient by doubling the lemon juice, so from one teaspoon to two. Mix the liquids for a few moments to thicken them; I used a fork to whisk them as if they were eggs. Now we have all the elements we need to finalize this preparation.
With a teaspoon, dampen the surface of each fennel slice generously so that it can absorb more liquid during baking. Keep in mind that with two medium fennel bulbs I finished the sauce I had prepared. Obviously, this does not mean they should float in the sauce inside the tray; they would become mushy fennel instead of firm and tasty. Therefore, if you have doubts or think the sauce is too much, remember: better less than too much in cooking; you can always increase the amount next time.
Now that we have moistened our fennel we are ready for baking. Put the tray in the oven and let it cook for about 15 minutes, after this time, we can then turn them over to the other side. On this occasion, if the sauce has reduced too much and you still have some left, you can moisten the fennel slices again. Continue cooking for the last 15 minutes. We can choose to serve the Sweet and Sour Fennel either hot or let it cool for a moment before bringing it to the table. Perhaps transferring them to a serving dish. I hope you like this seasonal side dish; let me know in the comments of the recipe or in the social profiles listed below. I wish you a good appetite and remind you that I look forward to the next recipe!!!
Storage of Sweet and Sour Fennel
You can store the Baked Fennel with Sweet and Sour Sauce in a refrigerator container with a lid, once they are completely cooled to room temperature. You can then keep them in the fridge for a couple of days. They should then be reheated in a microwave or in the oven, or let them return to room temperature gently on the kitchen counter and enjoy them that way.
They are perfect for a lunch at the office or a picnic, just seal them well in the container and carry them with you in a backpack.
