Fennel Bacon Pasta Salad Food

GRILLED FENNEL, TOMATO AND BABY GREENS SALAD WITH BACON

Steps:

• Heat grill to medium-high heat.
• Lightly brush fennel slices with oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill 14 to 15 minutes, turning once, or until tender crisp. Cut slices in half.
• Combine salad blend, tomatoes from pouch, fennel and bacon in large bowl. Toss with Red Wine Vinaigrette, to taste.
• Red Wine Vinaigrette:
• Whisk together 2 tablespoons lime juice, 2 tablespoons orange juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper and salt, to taste until well blended. Makes about 1/3 cup.

FENNEL SALAD

Steps:

• Slice two bulbs of fennel as thinly as you can (use a mandoline if you have one) and toss with red onion slices and some of the fennel fronds. Add kosher salt, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil to taste and toss.

CHESTNUT MUSHROOM, FENNEL & BACON FUSILLI

Steps:

• Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the fennel and onion for 15 mins, or until softened. Add the garlic and chilli, and cook for 1 min, then add the tomato purée and stir for 1 min more. Toss in the bacon and fry for 5-6 mins.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to pack instructions. Add the mushrooms to the frying pan, stir and cover for 8 mins, or until the mushrooms are soft.
• Drain the pasta, adding a ladle of the cooking water to the sauce. Tip in the pasta and stir to coat. Add the rest of the oil and scatter over the parsley and Parmesan.

PASTA WITH FENNEL AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Trim fennel bulbs, cut in half lengthwise, and remove tough cores. Thinly slice fennel bulb halves lengthwise. Peel onions, slice in half lengthwise, and thinly slice onions lengthwise.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir fennel and onions until onions are translucent, about 8 minutes. Pour in white wine, turn heat up to medium-high, and cook, stirring often, until the wine has nearly evaporated and fennel and onions begin to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil; cook the linguine at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes; drain and keep warm. Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water.
• Stir tomatoes into the fennel mixture and cook until the tomatoes soften, about 3 minutes. Mix lemon juice and pine nuts into the vegetables.
• Stir linguine into the fennel mixture and mix in reserved pasta water. Cook pasta and vegetables over high heat, stirring until hot and thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Serve in a large serving bowl topped with Parmesan cheese.

CREAMY TAGLIATELLE WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Add the oil to a non-stick frying pan. Tip in the fennel and cook for 10 mins until soft and slightly golden, adding the fennel seeds and garlic for the final 3 mins of cooking.
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta following pack instructions, reserving a few tbsp of the cooking water for the sauce.
• Stir the lemon zest, juice, mascarpone and most of the parsley into the fennel mixture. Heat through then toss in the cooked pasta and a few tbsp of the cooking water. Give everything a good stir and season. Scatter over the remaining parsley and serve.

BAKED FENNEL WITH BACON & CHEESE

Steps:

• In a frying pan fry the bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels { do not discard bacon grease }.
• Sauté the onion & the garlic in the bacon grease till the onion has caramelized slightly, remove from the grease.
• Cook the chicken stock with the butter, salt, pepper & Italian seasoning on low till the butter has melted, and then remove from the heat.
• Cut off and discard upper stalks of the fennel. Remove any wilted outer layers and cut a thin slice from each fennel base.
• Wash fennel and cut each bulb into quarters.
• In a shallow baking dish either spray with a non stick spray or line with parchment or foil, and arrange the fennel quarters in the baking dish, cut side up.
• Spread the onion/garlic mixture on the top of the fennel.
• Pour the broth mixture over the fennel { make sure you don't move the onions off the fennel } and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Bake, covered, in a 325 degree F oven for 1 hour.
• Mix the remaining Parmesan cheese with the bacon and the Panko.
• Remove cover; sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup cheese/Panko, bacon mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes more or until fennel is tender and top is golden. Baking time on this will depend on your oven.