Blue Cheese Baked Fennel Food

FENNEL-CELERY SALAD WITH BLUE CHEESE AND WALNUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 5-8 minutes; let cool.
• Finely chop 1 shallot half, then thinly slice the other half crosswise; set sliced shallot aside. Combine chopped shallot, mustard, sugar, and 1/4 cup vinegar in a resealable jar. Add oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover and shake to emulsify; set vinaigrette aside.
• Toss figs, reserved sliced shallot, and remaining 1/4 cup vinegar in a small bowl; let sit until figs and shallots are softened, at least 30 minutes.
• Just before serving, toss fennel, celery, blue cheese, and toasted walnuts in a large bowl. Drain figs and shallot and add to bowl. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper.
• Do Ahead
• Vinaigrette can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Figs and shallot can be soaked 4 hours ahead; store covered at room temperature. Fennel and celery can be sliced 4 hours ahead; place in a large bowl. Cover with a damp paper towel and chill.

FENNEL WITH CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Trim fennel and quarter.
• Cook in boiling water about 15 minutes, just until tender.
• Drain and turn into shallow baking dish which has been buttered with two tablespoons of the butter. Dot with remaining butter and sprinkle with cheese and pepper.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is golden.

FENNEL, APPLE, AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk to combine vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. While continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle in oil, until combined.
• Add cheese, walnuts, fennel, and apple to the vinaigrette. Toss to combine. Add lettuce, and toss again. Transfer to a platter. Serve immediately.

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.

PEAR FENNEL AND BLUE CHEESE SALAD WITH BALSAMIC GLAZE

Steps:

• Combine vinegar, wine and sugar in a heavy, large saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until syrupy and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Slice fennel bulb paper thin, using a mandoline, a very sharp knife or a food processor slicing disk. Toss fennel with olive oil and salt to taste.
• To serve, spread a bed of fennel evenly on each of six salad plates. Quarter and core pears and arrange quarters on each plate. Distribute pieces of cheese equally among plates, grind fresh black pepper liberally over each and drizzle with balsamic glaze. Serve immediately.

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.