Fennel With Blue Cheese And Bread Crumbs Food

SPICY FENNEL BREAD

Steps:

• Combine water, yeast, and sugar in a measuring cup. Mix well.
• Combine flour, fennel seeds, salt, red pepper flakes, onion, and garlic in a large bowl. Mix well until combined and any flour clumps are broken up. Slowly pour in the yeast-water mixture and stir into the flour.
• Knead the bread by hand until dough is well combined and you have an even consistency. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest on the countertop, 10 to 14 hours.
• Remove dough onto the counter and knead once more. Let rise, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• While bread rises, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Sprinkle the bottom of an oven-safe Dutch oven with flour, cover with the lid, and place in the oven while it preheats.
• Remove the Dutch oven and carefully place the dough in the pot; cover with the lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue to bake until golden, about 30 minutes more. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

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.

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.