Baked Apples With Candied Fennel And Pistachios Recipes

BAKED APPLES WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Mix 4 tablespoons softened butter with 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; use some of the mixture to grease a baking dish. Rub 4 cored apples inside and out with the remaining butter mixture. Place 4 thick onion rounds in the dish and top with the buttered apples. Add a quartered fennel bulb to the dish. Bake at 425 degrees until the apples are soft, 1 hour.
• Per serving: Calories: 157; Total Fat: 8 grams; Saturated Fat: 5 grams; Protein: 1 gram; Total carbohydrates: 23 grams; Sugar: 15 grams; Fiber: 5 grams; Cholesterol: 20 milligrams; Sodium: 140 milligrams

ROASTED APPLES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large ovenproof skillet. Add 2 Gala apples and 1 fennel bulb (both cut into wedges) and 6 halved small shallots and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon chopped thyme, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. Roast at 425˚ F, tossing once, until tender, 15 minutes. Add 1 more tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons cider vinegar; toss until glazed, 1 minute. Top with fennel fronds.

BAKED APPLES WITH CANDIED FENNEL AND PISTACHIOS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
• Cover fennel with cold water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, then drain. Return fennel to saucepan and stir in sugar, water (3/4 cup), zest, and fennel seeds. Gently simmer, uncovered, until fennel is tender and translucent and liquid is syrupy, about 45 minutes. Cool fennel slightly in syrup.
• Core apples from top using a melon baller, leaving about 1 inch intact at base. Arrange apples in a baking dish just large enough to hold them.
• Transfer fennel with a slotted spoon to a bowl (reserve syrup and zest) and add pistachios and raisins. Finely chop zest and stir into fennel mixture. Fill apples with some of mixture, reserving remainder.
• Stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice into reserved fennel syrup and pour over apples. Add butter to baking dish and bake apples, covered with foil, 25 minutes. Uncover and bake, basting occasionally, until tender, about 25 minutes more.
• Stir remaining fennel mixture and lemon juice to taste into syrup in dish. Serve over apples.