Fennel Leek Casserole Food

FENNEL LEEK CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Cut the green part off the leek and slice the white part in haf lengthwise. Cut into 3/4" chunks and separate the pieces.
• Leeks may contain sand between the leaves so proper washing is important. Wash the leeks thoroughly in a bowl of cold water.
• Use a slotted spoon to lift the leeks from the water. Do not pour the water off as any sand in the bottom of the bowl with stick back to the leeks.
• Drain the leeks on paper towels. Slice the fennel bulb.
• Bring 5 cups of water to a full boil. Add the long grain rice and cook for five minutes, then drain.
• Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over low-medium heat. Add the leeks, fennel, salt, and pepper.
• Cook, stirring frequently until the fennel and leeks are just beginning to soften. Pour in the drained rice and half and half, stirring to combine.
• Fold in the grated Swiss cheese and pour everything into a buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle a few crushed red pepper flakes over the top.
• Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour. Serve piping hot from the oven.

CREAMY LEEK AND FENNEL BAKE

Steps:

• Butter a casserole dish and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 190C/375°F.
• Parboil the veggies for 5-10 minutes until tender crisp.
• In the meantime, combine all the ingredients for the cream sauce in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low heat until very hot, but not boiling, about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
• Drain the veggies well and spread over the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Pour cream sauce over veggies. Stir around lightly to incorporate the sauce throughout.
• Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over veggies.
• Bake for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and top top is golden brown.
• Allow to sit 5 minutes prior to serving.

SAUTEED FENNEL AND LEEKS

Steps:

• Heat oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat; add fennel and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 10 minutes.
• Add leeks, season with salt and pepper, cook 5 minutes more,.
• Stir in lemon zest and butter, adjust seasonings, serve.

CARAMELIZED FENNEL, LEEK & ONION GRATIN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit)
• In a high speed blender add the drained cashews and almond milk and blend until completely smooth. Pour the mixture into a pot and add in the mustard, pepper, nutritional yeast (or parmesan) and stock. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes or so until the liquid begins to thicken. It should coat the back of a spoon. Stir in 1 tsp fresh thyme
• In a cast iron skillet heat the oil on medium heat and then add in the leeks, onion, fennel and garlic. Sprinkle with salt and leave to cook for 10 minutes, until they become soft, slightly caramelized and golden in colour.
• Pour the cashew cream into the skillet and stir through so that it coats all of the vegetables. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until bubbly and golden on top.
• Before serving sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley or thyme.

FENNEL LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• Heat oil in soup pot. Add fennel and leaks and cook 15 minutes, stirring often.
• Add 2 cups vegetable broth, cover and simmer 20 minutes. Let cool slightly. Puree in batches in food processor or blender.
• Add spinach to blender with some of the fennel-leak mixture and process until smooth. Return mixture to the soup pot.
• Stir in remaining 4 cups of broth, plus salt, pepper and cumin/celery salt. Taste to adjust seasonings and serve.

TOMATO AND FENNEL CASSEROLE

Steps:

• Use a small, shallow stovetop to oven vessel with lid for this.Cook fennel in butter until tender.
• Add jalapeno, garlic and celery and cook until tender.
• Add tomatoes and season with chicken broth concentrate and salt and pepper.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in 2% cheese and half of the breadcrumbs.
• Top with remaining breadcrumbs, cheese and crumbled Ritz and cook uncovered 350 degress for 20 minutes.
• You might want to spritz it with cooking spray or drizzle some oil over breadcrumbs and crackers to keep from browning too much.

CREAMY FENNEL AND LEEK SOUP

Steps:

• Heat the butter in a large, deep (preferably non-stick) sauté pan, over a medium heat, add the sliced fennel (NOT the strips of fennel), sliced leek and finely chopped garlic, and sauté, while stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until the fennel, leeks and garlic are beginning to soften.
• Remove from the heat, and set aside.
• In a large pot, heat the stock, add the rosemary sprigs, thyme and nutmeg and bring to the boil.
• Simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.
• Remove the rosemary sprigs.
• Add the fennel, leek and garlic mixture to the pot, and stir to combine all the ingredients.
• Set the pan in which the fennel, leek and garlic were sautéed aside, for re-use later.
• Allow the soup to cool slightly (10 minutes cooling time should be ample), then blend it in batches in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• As each batch is blended, pour the blended soup into another pot or pan, perhaps the deep pan used earlier to sauté the fennel, leeks and garlic.
• Once all of the soup has been blended, stir it to ensure that it is of an even consistency (inevitably some batches were probably thinner than others).
• Stir the sour cream and the 1/4 cup of parmesan into the soup.
• Reheat the soup over a medium heat until it is hot, but do not allow it to come to the boil.
• Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
• Turn off the heat and leave the soup covered so that it stays warm.
• In a small non-stick pan, heat the oil, and sauté the extra leek for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
• Ladle the soup into warm soup bowls and top with the sautéed leek.
• Garnish with the extra parmesan and sour cream, and serve immediately with warm crusty rolls.
• Chef's Note: Since posting this recipe, and since last making this soup, I have found and posted a fabulous recipe for vegetable, quite unlike others I have used in the past: Vegetable Stock Recipe #135453.

POTATO, LEEK AND FENNEL GRATIN

Steps:

• Rinse and trim off stalks of fennel. Discard the hard outer covering. Slice off bottom of bulbs and remove the center core. Slice the bulb lengthwise into 1/4" slices.
• Remove outer covering from the leeks and trim off the dark green sections. Slice remaining into 1/4" slices.
• Sauté fennel and leek slices in butter over med-high heat about 5 minutes in a large skillet. Add 3/4 tsp salt and 1 tsp thyme cover and simmer for about 10 minutes. Set aside.
• Combine potato slices, flour and 1/2 tsp salt in zip-top bag and shake to coat. Arrange half of these slices in a well buttered 13"x9" baking dish.
• Mix whipping cream and milk. Pour half of this mixture over potatoes in pan. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of Gruyere cheese and 1 tsp of thyme. Spoon sautéed fennel/leeks over cheese and top with remaining potatoes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, 1 tsp thyme, and pepper.
• Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes or until browned. Let stand 10 minutes.

PORK, FENNEL AND LEEK CASSEROLE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Make Constant Comment Tea with ¾ cup (180mL) boiling water, discard the tea bags, squeezing to extract as much liquid as possible. Add chicken stock and set aside. Melt butter in large skillet and add fennel and leeks and saute gently for 4-5 minutes or until soft, don't brown. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Add pork to large plastic bag, add flour and season with salt and pepper, and toss until pork is well coated. Add olive oil to large skillet and brown the pork in batches over medium heat. Remove pork and add apple juice, increase heat and stir up the brown bits from the bottom. Add the tea mixture and boil, add pork, fennel, leeks and potatoes. Cover and place in oven. Cook for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and add peas, mix cornstarch with a little cold water to make a paste, add slowly to hot liquid. Return to oven and continue cooking until sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper if needed and garnish with chopped mint leaves.