Fennel Wild Rice Salad Recipes

FENNEL RICE SALAD

Steps:

• Toast fennel seeds in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 2 minutes. Add water and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add rice and return to a boil, then cook, covered, over low heat until water is absorbed and rice is tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Spread rice in a shallow baking pan and cool quickly by chilling, uncovered, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, grate zest from orange into a large serving bowl and squeeze in juice (about 1/3 cup). Whisk in vinegar, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
• Chop 2 tablespoons fronds from fennel, then discard stalks. Quarter bupound lengthwise and thinly slice crosswise.
• Stir fennel bupound and fronds into vinaigrette along with cooled rice, scallions, and salt and pepper to taste.

FENNEL RICE

Steps:

• Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a deep, lidded skillet or a wide, lidded saucepan. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in fennel, add a generous pinch of salt, and cook, stirring often, until fennel has wilted and softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in rice or bulgur and stir to coat with olive oil.
• Add water, salt, pepper, parsley and dill and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until rice or bulgur is soft and liquid absorbed. Remove from heat, uncover and place a towel across the top of the pan. Return lid and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve hot, with the remaining olive oil drizzled over the top.

WILD RICE WITH FENNEL AND PORCINI

Steps:

• In a small bowl soak porcini in boiling-hot water 20 to 30 minutes, or until softened. Slowly strain soaking liquid through a fine sieve lined with a coffee filter or a double thickness of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth into a small saucepan, being careful to leave last tablespoon containing sediment in bowl. Boil soaking liquid until reduced to about 1/3 cup. Wash porcini under cold water to remove any grit and pat dry. Chop porcini coarse.
• Bring reduced porcini liquid to a boil with cold water, salt, and rice and simmer, covered, 45 to 50 minutes, or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. (If rice is tender before liquid is absorbed drain in a colander.) Transfer rice to a serving bowl and keep warm, covered.
• In a heavy skillet cook fennel, onion, and mushrooms in butter over moderate heat, stirring, until fennel is tender, about 10 minutes. Add fennel mixture to rice and toss to combine. Rice may be made 3 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature. Reheat rice in skillet, adding water to prevent it from sticking to skillet.