Pickled Fennel Food

SWEET AND SOUR PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• Inspect 2 jars for cracks and rings for rust, discarding any defective ones. Immerse in simmering water until fennel is ready. Wash new, unused lids and rings in warm, soapy water.
• Place sliced fennel in a colander and rinse well.
• Combine water, vinegar, and salt in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the fennel, sugar, olive oil, and chives; stir to combine. Bring back to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.
• Remove fennel from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon and pack into sterilized jars. Fill the jars with the hot cooking liquid, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Wipe the tops of the jars with a clean cloth. Place lids on the jars and tighten.
• Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil and lower jars 2 inches apart into the boiling water using a holder. Pour in more boiling water to cover jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a rolling boil, cover, and process for 15 minutes.
• Remove the jars from the stockpot with a jar lifter and let rest on a kitchen towel, several inches apart, for 12 to 24 hours. Press the center of each lid with a finger to ensure the lid does not move up or down. Remove the rings for storage and store in a cool, dark area for 1 week before consuming.

QUICK PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• Trim the top stalks from the fennel, reserving some of the fronds. Trim the root end and peel any tough outer layers away.
• Slice the trimmed bulb very thinly (1/8 inch) on a mandoline slicer, or with a very sharp knife.
• Fit the fennel slices tightly into a wide mouth quart mason jar. I like to add a few fennel fronds into the jar as well.
• Put the vinegar and water in a small saucepan with the spices. Heat to a boil, then pour everything into the jar with the fennel. Make sure the fennel is completely covered with pickling liquid. If not, add a little more water to top off.
• Let cool at room temperature, then cap and refrigerate. It's ready to enjoy as soon as it's chilled, and will keep up to a month, refrigerated.

HOW TO MAKE QUICK PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan add in the fennel seeds, anise, peppercorns, vinegar, water, sugar, salt and orange peel.
• Bring to a boil and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 min.
• While the brine is simmering, add the sliced fennel and onion to the jar or bowl with a lid.
• Pour the brine through a fine mesh sieve and into the jar to cover the fennel completely. Run a knife around the edge inside the jar to release any air bubbles. Add more brine if needed or discard if you have too much. It will depend on the shape and size of your container and how large your fennel bulbs are.
• Let cool, seal tightly and then refrigerate. Wait 24 hours to serve.
• Will last up to 2-3 weeks in your refrigerator.

PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• Wash three pint jars with lids in hot soapy water, and rinse well. (You can use canning jars and lids, but you don't have to.)
• Wash fennel, and cut away any bruises or bad spots; trim ends and slice into very thin rings. Cut three 1-inch-long strips of peel from orange. Remove any pith from peel.
• Bring 1 1/2 cups water, vinegar, salt, and sugar to a boil in a large pot.
• Meanwhile, fill each jar halfway with fennel. Place 1 orange rind and 2 pieces star anise on top of fennel. Fill jar with remaining fennel, using the back of a clean spoon to pack it down. Leave 3/4 inch of space beneath the rim.
• Pour hot liquid over fennel, covering it by 1/4 inch and leaving 1/2 inch of beneath the rim of each jar. Place lids on jars, and let stand until cool. Store jars in refrigerator; serve within 3 to 5 days.

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD WITH PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• For pickled fennel:
• Toast star anise, aniseed, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium-low heat, stirring often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Bundle toasted spices, lemongrass, and orange zest in a piece of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine to make a sachet. Place sachet and fennel in a 1-quart jar or bowl.
• Bring vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour vinegar mixture over sachet and fennel and let cool; discard sachet. Cover fennel and chill at least 12 hours.
• DO AHEAD: Pickled fennel can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep chilled.
• For assembly:
• Combine large and cherry tomatoes, vinegar, and 6 tablespoons oil in a medium bowl; season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes.
• Before serving, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Cook Cubanelle peppers, tossing often, until charred in spots, about 4 minutes.
• Serve tomato salad topped with peppers, pickled fennel, and fennel fronds.

FENNEL STEM PICKLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, mix together onion, oil, 1 tablespoon salt, and pepper. Spread onion mixture in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake until onions are tender and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
• In a small nonreactive saucepan, mix together vinegar, sugar, and remaining 2 1/2 teaspoons salt; bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in red pepper flakes, mustard seeds, chile powder, garlic powder, Chinese five spice, and turmeric.
• Place cooled onion mixture, fennel stems, cucumber, jalapeno, and bell pepper in two 1-quart glass jars or one 2-quart glass jar; toss to combine. Pour hot vinegar mixture over vegetables, adding water if necessary to cover. Cover jar and transfer to refrigerator; refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving, and up to 2 weeks.

PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• Cut fennel bulbs in two vertically. Slice out and discard solid core and slice each piece very thinly, horizontally. Place fennel in colander in sink or large bowl, and sprinkle with salt; toss to mix. Let rest for 1 hour.
• Using a zester that removes in strips, remove half the zest from orange and lemon. Juice orange and lemon, set juices aside, and sterilize a 1-quart canning jar and its lid in boiling water for several minutes.
• Combine salted fennel and orange and lemon strips, and toss well to mix. Pack mixture into jar and set aside.
• In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and crushed peppercorns. Bring just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour mixture into jar of fennel, using a skewer to remove air bubbles and allow all liquid to fit in. Seal jar with lid and allow to cool. Marinate at room temperature for two days; may be stored at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

GRILLED BRISKET WITH PICKLED FENNEL

Steps:

• To make the pickled fennel, sterilize a large mason jar. Remove the lid and put it and the jar in a large saucepan of water over high heat. Bring to the boil and let it sit for 10 to15 minutes. Put the jar and the lid on a clean tea towel to dry.
• Put the vinegar, 1 cup water, sugar, cloves, and fennel seeds in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the fennel to the saucepan with the pickling liquid and bring it back to a simmer. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, or until the fennel is tender.
• Transfer the fennel and liquid to the sterilized jar. Tap the jar as you pour in the liquid to release any air bubbles. Seal the jar well with its lid.
• Fill a medium saucepan with water over high heat. Put the jar in the boiling water, turn the heat off and allow it to sit there for 20 minutes, to create a vacuum seal. Set aside the jar on a cloth to cool down completely.
• Meanwhile, make the spice mixture for the brisket. Use a mortar and pestle or food processor to grind or process the garlic powder, coriander, paprika, brown sugar, black pepper and sea salt to a coarse powder.
• Rub some of the spice mixture into the brisket on all sides, put in a ziplock bag or covered baking dish and add the remaining spice mixture. Put in the fridge and marinate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the barbecue to high. Take the brisket out of the ziplock bag. The dry spice mixture will have drawn moisture from the meat, so give it a light wipe before placing it on the barbecue. Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, to create a beautifully dark colour and crust.
• Reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 1/2 hours, turning every 30 minutes and brushing with the remaining spice mixture every 10 to 20 minutes. Remove the brisket from the heat, wrap in foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes before slicing.
• I like to serve this brisket on a massive platter with the pickled fennel, a few brioche slider buns, slaw, lemon wedges and aïoli.