A delicious and very simple side dish, fennel beccafico with bay leaves.
Here is the vegetarian version of a very well-known Sicilian dish, where instead of sardines I preferred to use seasonal fennel.
The ingredients are otherwise the same: bay leaves, breadcrumbs, garlic, pine nuts. Half an hour in the oven and the dish is ready.
I remembered this traditional dish when my blogger friends suggested I write about bay leaves for the regular monthly column Herbs and Flowers on the Plate.
Bay leaf:
From the laurel wreaths of ancient Roman heroes to our table, the bay leaf — this green plant so well known around the Mediterranean — is never missing.
If harvested in spring, bay leaves release many active compounds that made them famous. The leaves and berries contain essential oils such as geraniol, terpineol, and eucalyptol, as well as minerals, vitamins, and folic acid.
Excellent are the infusions of dried bay leaves for digestion, and who doesn’t recall that the famous Aleppo soap is rich in bay laurel.
In the kitchen it’s used as a flavoring: bay leaves are indispensable with lentils and legumes, in vegetable broths, sautéed vegetables, and soups.
Here you can see some recipes where I used bay leaves
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients Fennel beccafico with bay leaves
- 4 fennel bulbs
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (about 1.8 oz)
- 1 tablespoon wild fennel fronds
- 1 pinch unrefined sea salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons raisins (about 1.1 oz)
- 1 oz pine nuts (about 2 tbsp)
- 1 tablespoon unrefined brown sugar
- 1 pinch pepper
- 20 leaves bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons orange juice (and grated zest)
- 1 tablespoon
Steps Fennel beccafico with bay leaves
First of all, wash the fennel bulbs well, trim the stalks and reserve the fresh fronds, remove the base, cut into quarters or wedges.
Drop the fennel into boiling water for 10 minutes; they should remain crisp.
Rinse the raisins well, then soak them for 10 minutes and squeeze them dry.
Pour a drizzle of oil into a pan, add the breadcrumbs and toast, stirring, for a few minutes.
In a bowl put the toasted breadcrumbs, the drained raisins, pine nuts, a little wild fennel fronds, the sugar, salt, and pepper.
Set aside. Meanwhile grease a baking dish large enough to lay out the fennel. Alternate fennel pieces with bay leaves, placing them on their side. Cover with the breadcrumb mixture and drizzle with the orange juice and grated zest.
Bake for 30 minutes at 356°F and serve hot.
Tips from Timo and Lentils
Of course you can use other vegetables depending on the season: try sweet orange potatoes instead of fennel, or cauliflower cut into thick slices, or zucchini cut into chunks. The important thing is that the bay leaf acts as a divider between each slice.
Check out other recipes with bay leaves from the friends of the Herbs and Flowers on the Plate column:
Tiziana: Beer chicken
Miria: Polish bean soup
Elisa: Mackerel with bay leaves and orange
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