Blue Cheese Baked Fennel Recipes

BLUE CHEESE BAKED FENNEL

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
• Trim the green tops of the fennel bulbs and cut the bulbs in half.
• Use a little of the oil to grease a baking dish. Arrange the bulbs in the dish, with the flat sides uppermost.
• Use a pastry brush (or clean fingers!) to "baste" the fennel with the remaining oil. This will stop it from burning during roasting.
• Mix the seeds together and grind well.
• Crumble the cheese and mix with the seeds. It will form a kind of paste.
• Smooth ¼ of the paste on top of each fennel half.
• Roast for 30 minutes, until the fennel has softened and the topping is starting to go brown.

FENNEL WITH BLUE CHEESE AND BREAD CRUMBS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
• Cut fennel into about 1/4-inch-thick slices, and cook in the boiling water until just tender, less than 5 minutes. Drain, and layer in a shallow baking dish. (You can also drain the fennel, then stop its cooking by plunging it into ice water, then drain again. In this manner you can finish the cooking up to a day or two later; increase the baking time to 20 minutes.)
• Top fennel with bread crumbs, then cheese; season all with a grating of pepper (hold off on salt, because the cheese is salty). Place in oven until cheese melts, about 10 minutes.
• Run baking dish under broiler until top browns, checking every 30 seconds. Serve hot or at room temperature.

FENNEL, APPLE AND BLUE CHEESE STUFFED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the garlic and shallots and cook on medium heat until fragrant and translucent, about 1-2 minutes. Add the fennel, fennel seed, 1 tablespoon of the rosemary, apple, salt, black pepper, honey, vinegar, and apple brandy. Cook on medium heat until the apple and fennel are browned, about 15 minutes. Fennel should be soft but not mushy and still have some firmness. Remove the filling from heat and cool to room temperature. Toss in the blue cheese and the crispy bacon.
• Line a baking sheet with a heavy sheet of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil, making sure the sheet is long enough to wrap up over the ends of the roast. Layer another two sheets of Reynolds Wrap® Heavy Duty Aluminum Foil over the first one. Set aside.
• Place the pork loin fat side down on a work surface, season the inside lightly with salt and pepper and then evenly spread the filling. Roll the pork up lengthwise and tie it securely with kitchen twine. Rub with remaining olive oil and season evenly with kosher salt. Heat a large heavy skillet (big enough to hold the entire loin) over high heat until very hot. Add the pork loin and brown very well on all sides, about 1 minute per side.
• Using tongs, place the roast in the center of the foil. Sprinkle with pepper and the rest of the rosemary. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
• Bake the wrapped loin for 45 minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer reads 130 degrees F. Let the pork rest, wrapped, for 10 minutes. Open packet carefully by cutting along top fold with a sharp knife, allowing steam to escape; then open top of foil packet. Slice and serve.

BAKED FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Clean the fennel, removing the upper fronds, and slice lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.
• Set the feathery leaves aside to garnish the completed dish.
• Place in a saucepan and cover with milk.
• Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the fennel can be easily pierced with a fork.
• Remove the fennel and pat dry.
• Layer in a baking dish, drizzle with two tablespoons of the oil and add salt and pepper.
• Bake for about 20 minutes.
• Mix the remaining oil with the cheese and breadcrumbs, and sprinkle over the dish and continue baking until golden brown.
• This dish is great hot or at room temperature.
• Use the discarded feathery fronds to garnish, and serve.