Vanilla Roast Chicken With Fennel Food

ROAST CHICKEN WITH LEMONS AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a large rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Place a lemon half in cavity. Using kitchen twine, tie legs together. Add fennel and remaining lemons to sheet and toss with oil.
• Roast until juices run clear when chicken is pierced between breast and leg, or an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of a thigh (avoiding bone) registers 165, 60 to 70 minutes, basting chicken with pan juices and tossing fennel halfway through.
• Transfer chicken to a platter and cover loosely with foil; let rest 10 minutes. Carve chicken. Serve with fennel and lemons.

SHEET-PAN CHICKEN WITH SWEET POTATOES AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss chicken with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and arrange on a large rimmed baking sheet, skin-side up.
• In the same bowl, toss potatoes and fennel with 2 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and arrange in an even layer around the chicken.
• Roast until chicken and potatoes are a deep golden brown and fennel is starting to caramelize at the edges, about 35 to 45 minutes.
• As chicken cooks, combine vinegar, lemon zest and juice, mustard, garlic and 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Whisk in remaining 1/4 cup olive oil in a thin stream and stir in pecorino. Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest. Toss the fennel fronds and parsley with the roasted vegetables.
• To serve, cut the chicken off the bone and slice. Divide chicken and vegetables among plates. Serve with a handful of leafy greens if you like, and spoon the pecorino vinaigrette over everything.

SHEET-PAN CHICKEN WITH APPLE, FENNEL AND ONION

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a small skillet, toast the fennel seeds over medium-low heat, stirring frequently until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pound into a coarse powder with a mortar and pestle or, alternatively, roughly chop. In a large bowl, toss together the chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the fennel seeds and season well with salt and pepper.
• Place the onion, fennel and apple slices on the sheet pan. Toss with the remaining olive oil and season well with salt. Spread in an even layer. Add the chicken skin side up on top of the vegetables and lay the rosemary (distributing evenly) on top of the chicken. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the onions, fennel and apples are softened and have begun to caramelize at the edge of the pan.
• Turn the oven to broil and move the oven rack to sit right below it. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs and broil the chicken for 1 to 2 minutes until the skin of the chicken is crispy and golden. Season with flaky salt.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Drizzle bottom of shallow roasting pan or baking sheet with about half the olive oil and cover it with a layer of the fennel. Overlap pieces if necessary but use whole pan. Drizzle remaining oil over fennel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut up chicken if necessary and sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper.
• Top fennel with the chicken parts, skin side up. Ideally, you'll have a layer of fennel pretty much covered by a layer of chicken, but it's fine if some of the fennel roasts uncovered. Spoon some of the oil from bottom of pan over chicken. If there is not enough, drizzle additional olive oil over the chicken. Roast about 15 minutes, then baste chicken with pan drippings and rotate the pan. If necessary, adjust oven temperature so chicken browns but does not burn.
• The chicken will be done in about 30 minutes. Serve each piece with some fennel and a little of the pan juices spooned over, garnished with parsley and a lemon wedge.

VANILLA ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the reserved fennel ribs in the cavity of the chicken, and truss if desired. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, and place in roasting pan.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in honey, zest, juices and extract. Brush the chicken all over with vanilla mixture, place the chicken on its side and roast 15 minutes. Turn chicken on its other side, baste with pan drippings and roast 15 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, and saute the garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the fennel, and saute over medium heat until softened and golden, about 15 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
• Remove chicken from the oven, place breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spoon the fennel around the chicken, and pour wine over the fennel. Return chicken to the oven, and roast, basting with pan drippings every 10 minutes, until the juices run clear when the chicken is pricked in the thickest part of the thigh, about 35 to 45 minutes. If chicken browns too quickly during roasting, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• To serve, remove the fennel from the pan with a slotted spoon, and divide among 4 plates. Carve the chicken, and divide the meat among the plates. Season to taste, and serve immediately.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425
• Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Remove any excess fat and leftover pin feathers and pat the outside dry. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with the butter and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel in a roasting pan. Toss with salt, pepper, 20 sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.
• Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

SHEET-PAN CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES AND HERBS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, combine fennel wedges, artichokes, tomatoes and 3 tablespoons oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to evenly coat. Spread in an even layer.
• In a small bowl, combine garlic, ground fennel, rosemary, sage and the remaining 3 tablespoons oil. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper, then rub with spice mixture. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables skin-side up.
• Roast until vegetables are tender and chicken is golden and crisp and cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Divide chicken and vegetables among plates. Pour pan juices into a small bowl, let settle and then skim off the fat with a spoon. Stir in olives, lemon juice and red-pepper flakes (if using). Spoon sauce over chicken and vegetables. Serve warm.

CHICKEN RAGù WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Put the oil in a wide saucepan or deep skillet that will fit six thighs snugly and turn the heat to medium. Add the bacon and cook it until it's crisp, 5 to 6 minutes, then, using a slotted spoon, transfer it to a small bowl.
• Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the chicken, skin-side down, to begin to brown. After 3 or 4 minutes, turn it and cook for another 3 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of the fat.
• Add the onion and fennel and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and just starting to turn golden, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for another minute or so.
• Pour in wine and simmer, stirring and scraping up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by half, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add the bacon and then the chicken with any accumulated juices, skin-side up, keeping the thighs in a single layer. Pour in enough water to almost cover the chicken.
• Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat down so the liquid is bubbling very gently. Partially cover with a lid, setting it so some steam can escape. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
• Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool. Once you can handle it, remove the bones and skin and shred the chicken by hand.
• If you are serving the ragù over pasta, get your water going: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving 1 cup pasta water before draining.
• Add milk to the pan and turn the burner to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until sauce is nearly reduced by half and slightly thickened, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the shredded chicken back to the pan and season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the butter, then the Parmesan. If serving over pasta, add some of the starchy pasta water if the sauce seems too thick.
• Add the parsley, and toss sauce with the pasta, if using. Pass more Parmesan at the table.

SAUTEED CHICKEN BREASTS WITH FENNEL AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a large nonstick frying pan, heat 2 1/2 teaspoon of the oil over moderately high heat. Add the fennel and half of the rosemary.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until the fennel is golden brown and almost done, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the fennel is tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the fennel and the cooking liquid from the pan.
• Heat the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil over moderate heat. Pound chicken breasts so they are of an even thickness. Season the chicken with the 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Add the chicken to the pan with the remaining 1 teaspoon of rosemary and cook until brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until almost done, about 3 minutes longer.
• Add the garlic; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the fennel and its cooking liquid and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Bring to a simmer. Move the fennel so that it sits on top of the chicken. Cover the pan and simmer on very low heat for 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL & OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Toss 2 tbsp of the oil with the fennel and garlic and spread out on a tray. Rub the chicken with a further 2 tbsp oil, push the lemon halves and thyme into the carcass and season the skin generously. Sit the chicken in the tin and roast for 1 hr, then stir through the tomatoes and olives, season and return to the oven for 20-25 mins, or until the chicken is cooked through. To check, pierce the thigh with a skewer - the juices should run clear.
• Cook the polenta following pack instructions, then stir through the remaining olive oil and parmesan and season to taste. Carve the chicken and serve with the tomato sauce and cheesy polenta.

VANILLA ROAST CHICKEN WITH FENNEL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place reserved fennel ribs in cavity of the chicken, and truss if desired. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper, and place in roasting pan.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in honey, zest, juices and extract. Brush the chicken all over with vanilla mixture, place the chicken on its side and roast 15 minutes. Turn chicken on its other side, baste with pan drippings and roast 15 minutes more.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat, and saute the garlic until soft, about 3 minutes. Add the fennel, and saute over medium heat until softened and golden, about 15 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
• Remove chicken from the oven, place breast side up and reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Spoon the fennel around the chicken, and pour wine over the fennel. Return chicken to the oven and roast, basting with pan drippings every 10 minutes, until the juices run clear when the chicken is pricked in the thickest part of the thigh, about 35 to 45 minutes. If chicken browns too quickly during roasting, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
• To serve, remove the fennel from the pan with a slotted spoon, and divide among 4 plates. Carve the chicken, and divide the meat among the 4 plates. Season to taste, and serve immediately.