French Friday with Dorie: Broth-Braised Fennel

It seems to me since I started cooking along with French Fridays with Dorie over a year ago, that I have said so many times "I have never eaten this before," or "I have never fixed this before," or "I have never heard of this before." Sad, but true. It makes me wonder what on earth I have been cooking all these years. Have we just been eating the same things over and over again and didn't even realize it?! At any rate, that's what I enjoy so much about being part of this group is that I have expanded my cooking repertoire in leaps and bounds and hearing my family declare, "This is a keeper!" at the end of a meal is so very satisfying.

The recipe on the schedule for today is a perfect example. I have used fennel seeds and fresh fennel fronds in my cooking over the years, but have never used the bulb. I have seen them in the grocery stores and at the markets, and I must confess that I usually just glide right past them because although I like licorice, it is not something I choose to eat very often and I find the smell of fennel to be a little overpowering, but when I saw Dorie's Bonne Idée for making broth-braised fennel I decided we needed to bite the bullet and give it a try and so I made it instead of the potatoes.

The braising liquid consists of chicken broth, some water, a little bit of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, a strip of lemon zest, a bay leaf, fresh thyme, and rosemary with some salt and pepper to taste. After bringing it to a boil for 5 minutes you add the fennel, cover and cook. Since my fennel bulbs were large, I quartered them, and cooked them for 20 minutes until I could pierce them with a fork.

The result was a side dish that we both loved. And actually John remarked that he could easily eat a bowl of this as a meal. I thought it would taste like licorice, but it didn't at all. Instead, it had this wonderful subtle flavor, but with layers of depth to it from braising in the aromatic sauce. John liked it so much that I found him digging around in the refrigerator the next day looking to see if there was any leftover. Needless to say, I won't be walking past it at the market any longer.

I'm eager to see what the other group members thought of this recipe. You can find their links over at French Fridays with Dorie.

Cookbook Giveaway! If you don't already have a copy of Dorie's book, Baking with Julia, I am giving away a used copy on my blog. The giveaway (see previous post) closes at midnight pacific time on Tuesday, January 31st. An entry will be selected at random to receive the book and will be announced on my blog on Wednesday, February 1st. Although used, the book is in really good condition.