Fennel is an awesome vegetable that is actually not totally new to me. But I have only ever eaten it two ways – raw on salads or in an awesome Rachael Ray recipe with fennel, onions, and breadcrumbs in pasta (I’ll have to make that one later and post it!) So this is a “new flora” post today because I’m finally going to learn another way to eat fennel! And because I don’t think too many people use fennel, so I wanted to show it off a little.
A few facts I gathered about fennel:
- first references to fennel are in ancient Greek myths!
- it’s full of antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, potassium, calcium, manganese, and lots more health benefits
- the seeds are believed to relieve bloating and gas
So I flipped through my cookbooks and saw a recipe in Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s The Vegan Table for Roasted Fennel with Fennel Oil. I just used the other vegetables that I had on hand, and the result was great.
adapted from The Vegan Table
serves 2
2 fennel bulbs
1 yellow onion
1 sweet potato
2 T olive oil, divided
2 T balsamic vinegar, divided
pinch salt & pepper
1 T fennel seeds, crushed
1 t dried oregano
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut all vegetables in wedges. There’s a core in the fennel bulb that some people don’t eat – I left it in so that the wedges stayed together well, but didn’t eat it. Toss vegetables with 1 T oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and roast for about 35 minutes.
Whisk the rest of the ingredients together and drizzle over veggies when they’re done roasting. Top with some of the pretty fronds from the top of the fennel bulb for garnish.
Nutrition facts per serving: Calories: 281; Calories from Fat: 132; Total Fat: 14.6g; Saturated Fat: 1.9g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 148mg; Total Carbohydrates: 36.1g; Dietary Fiber: 11.5g; Sugars: 6.1g; Protein: 5.2g
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