Fennel With Sweet Onions Food

CARAMELIZED FENNEL AND ONIONS

Steps:

• Cook fennel and onions in olive oil and butter: Heat olive oil and butter in a large, uncovered, wide pan on medium high heat. Add the sliced fennel and onions and stir to coat. Stir occasionally. After about 10 minutes, sprinkle the onions and fennel with salt. Lower the temperature to medium. You want to strike a balance between allowing the pan to get hot enough so that some caramelization (when the natural sugars in the onion and fennel start to brown) and keeping the pot from getting so hot that the onions and fennel dry out. If it becomes an issue, you can add a couple tablespoons of water to the pan to help the onions and fennel to keep from drying out too much.
• Scrape up browned bits: Stir occasionally, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Note that the browned bits are the tastiest parts. Cook for another 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how much of a hurry you're in, and how caramelized you want your mixture to be. The longer you cook, the more caramelized and browned. Taste test along the way to see if the cooking has been sufficient for your taste. By the way, the onions and fennel will have plenty of flavor without having to be completely cooked down and browned all over.
• Toss with Parmesan, parsley, lemon: When ready to serve, remove from heat and toss in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese, the chopped parsley, lemon zest and lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice if necessary. Serve alone as a side to chicken or seafood, or on crackers or thinly sliced toasted baguette for a crostini. You can also use it as a filling for a rustic tart . Links: How to Slice an Onion

CARAMELIZED FENNEL AND ONIONS - A SLOW, EASY MEDITERRANEAN SIDE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet uncovered over medium-high heat. Add the sliced fennel and onions and stir to coat. Stir occasionally, after 10 minutes sprinkle the vegetables with about a teaspoon salt. Lower the temperature to medium. You want the pan hot enough to get the caramelization going but not so much that the fennel and onions dry out. If that does happen, add a tablespoon or two of water.
• Stir occasionally, scraping up any bits that are on the bottom. The brown bits are the ones with the most flavor. Cook for another 30 minutes or up to an hour, depending on how impatient you are. The longer it cooks the more caramelized the onions and fennel become. Taste test along the way. The dish will have a lot of flavor and doesn't have to be cooked down all the way.
• When ready to serve, remove the pan from the heat, add in the grated Parmesan cheese, the chopped parsley, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and black pepper.
• Sprinkle with slivered basil leaves, if desired. Or serve with the fennel fronds.
• Pan roasted fennel is excellent served with Italian sausages, pork chops, roast chicken, seafood, or on crostini. I can't think of anything that I wouldn't serve with it.

GRILLED SAUSAGE SANDWICHES WITH FENNEL AND SWEET ONION

Steps:

• Uncoil sausage and cut into 4 equal lengths. Re-coil each piece into a round and secure with a skewer horizontally through coil.
• Toss together fennel, onion, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
• Lightly oil grill pan and heat over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Arrange sausages and fennel and onion in grill pan (vegetables can be in a shallow pile). Grill, turning sausages over once and tossing vegetables occasionally, until vegetables are softened and charred, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer vegetables to a bowl and continue to grill sausages until cooked through, 2 to 5 minutes more.
• Remove skewers and serve sausages, topped with fennel and onion, on buns.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO, FENNEL, AND ONION SALAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Combine the first 6 ingredients in a jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray; toss to coat.
• Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring every 10 minutes.
• Combine vegetables and bread in a large bowl. Combine chopped cilantro and remaining ingredients, stirring mixture with a whisk.
• Drizzle juice mixture over vegetable mixture, tossing gently to combine. Serve immediately.

CREAMED PEARL ONIONS AND FENNEL WITH CRISPY SPICED BREADCRUMBS

Steps:

• Position rack in middle of oven and preheat to 400ºF. Brush a 2-qt. gratin or baking dish, preferably oval or rectangular, with 1/2 Tbsp. butter.
• Cut fennel bulb and stems into 1/4" pieces. Finely chop 2 Tbsp. fennel fronds; set aside.
• Combine onions, fennel bulb and stems, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 3/4 cup water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Drain onion mixture, pat dry, and transfer to prepared dish.
• Bring cream and 1/2 tsp. salt to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, then pour over onion mixture. Bake 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine orange zest, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, black pepper, red pepper flakes, reserved fennel fronds, 1/2 tsp. salt, and remaining 3 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter in a medium bowl.
• Remove onion mixture from oven and top with breadcrumb mixture. Return to oven and continue baking until breadcrumbs are deep golden brown and cream is bubbling around the edges, 25-30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

FENNEL WITH SWEET ONIONS

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
• Serve at room temperature.