Roasted fennel is healthy side dish that pairs beautifully with fish or chicken. If you are interested in healthy eating this is one of my favorite ways to serve a light, satisfying dish.
Roasting the fennel bulbs with simple ingredients, a little bit of olive oil and a sprinkling of fresh herbs is the best way to enjoy this vegetable. You will love this Roasted Fennel recipe!
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I love eating raw fennel wedges for its delicious flavor that tastes slightly of black licorice and crunchy texture. However, when roasted, fennel is a revelation! The flesh is tender and satisfying and the roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetable.
You will love to serve roasted fennel with Roast Chicken, Chicken breast, Salmon or with grilled Branzino like we do in the south of France. Fennel is also perfect for BBQ season.
Fennel is an amazing side dish but can also become a main dish by adding parmesan cheese over the top once roasted.
I was surprised to learn that fennel is such an underused vegetable in North America - it is a key ingredient in French and Italian recipes, it will be wonderful addition to your weekly menu.
I have a great recipe for fennel salad which you will enjoy as well.
Feel free to add other roasted veggies to the pan as well for variety. Parsnips, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes all roast very well with fennel.
Step by step instructions in the recipe card below.
Ingredients
4 bulbs of fresh fennel
8 campari tomatoes, halved (or 4 garden tomatoes, cut into quarters)
2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoon of herbs de Provence (or fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary if you have them)
Teaspoon of sea salt
1 lemon (lemon juice and lemon zest)
Cooking time: 1 hour in a hot oven
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the green fronds off the fennel bulbs and discard (or make into a tea if you wish!)
Peel off the outer layers of each white bulb, discard.
Standing the fennel bulb on its base, cut width wise all the way down, so it is cut in half. Then cut each half into thick slices.
Slice out the bottom core out of each wedge as the core can be a little more bitter in flavor and tougher in texture.
Spread cut fennel in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
Sprinkle generously with olive oil, sea salt and herbes de provence or fresh herbs.
Place tray in preheated oven on the middle rack.
Roast for a half hour.
Remove the tray from the oven and flip the fennel slices so that they roast evenly on both sides.
Add in the tomato slices and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
Roast for another half hour until the fennel is translucent in color and softened.
You will see, roasting the fennel makes for nice, crispy edges. Truly the good stuff!
Serve immediately.
What is Fennel?
Fennel is a root vegetable and member of the carrot family. Fennel fronds can be used for tea or cooking similar to fresh dill. The vegetable makes for a great side dish with roast chicken or fish.
Where to find Fennel?
In the produce section of your grocery store or at any farmer's market. I always buy a few bulbs when I see them. I enjoy eating fennel wedges raw too, they have a nice, natural sweetness.
What wine to drink with Fennel
Fennel has a black licorice flavor so it pairs better with wines that are round and slightly buttery such as a chardonnay or a pinot blanc. While I love a crisp, white wine such as a pinot gris, I find that the acidity between the fennel and pinot gris are not as balanced as with a chardonnay.
Other healthy recipes you will enjoy on lechefswife.com
Grilled Branzino with Vierge Sauce
Let me know if you enjoyed this roasted fennel recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below. I love to hear from you.
Au plaisir,
Le Chef's Wife
ABOUT LE CHEF'S WIFE
Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that busy people deserve to eat well at home.
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Roasted Fennel
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1h5
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: side dishes
- Method: oven roasted
- Cuisine: vegetarian, vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Roasted fennel is healthy side dish that pairs beautifully with fish or chicken. If you are interested in healthy eating this is one of my favorite ways to serve a light, satisfying dish.
Ingredients
- 4 bulbs of fresh fennel
- 8 campari tomatoes, halved (or 4 garden tomatoes, cut into quarters)
- 2 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp of herbs de Provence (or fresh oregano, thyme and rosemary if you have them)
- Teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 lemon (lemon juice and lemon zest)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice the green fronds off the fennel bulbs and discard (or make into a tea if you wish!)
- Peel off the outer layers of each white bulb, discard.
- Standing the fennel bulb on its base, cut width wise all the way down, so it is cut in half. Then cut each half into thick slices.
- Slice out the bottom core out of each wedge as the core can be a little more bitter in flavor and tougher in texture.
- Spread cut fennel in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle generously with olive oil, sea salt and herbes de provence or fresh herbs.
- Place tray in preheated oven on the middle rack.
- Roast for a half hour.
- Remove the tray from the oven and flip the fennel slices so that they roast evenly on both sides.
- Add in the tomato slices and drizzle with a little more olive oil.
- Roast for another half hour until the fennel is translucent in color and softened.
- You will see, roasting the fennel makes for nice, crispy edges. Truly the good stuff!
- Serve immediately.
Notes
What wine to drink with Fennel
Fennel has a black licorice flavor so it pairs better with wines that are round and slightly buttery such as a chardonnay or a pinot blanc. While I love a crisp, white wine such as a pinot gris, I find that the acidity between the fennel and pinot gris are not as balanced as with a chardonnay.
You will love to serve roasted fennel with Roast Chicken, Chicken breast, Salmon or with grilled Branzino like we do in the south of France. Fennel is also perfect for BBQ season.
Puhh Watt. says
It is simply magical.
The natural flavor is brought out by the basic seasoning of salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and a dash of freshly ground black pepper. Its sophisticated, rustic charm enhanced the entire meal when I served it with grilled chicken and Its ease of use toss, roast, and enjoy minimum preparation, zero fuss, and maximum taste payback was what really drew me in. The next day, leftovers were equally delicious, and I ate them cold
Suzanne says
I have always wanted to know the best way to cook fennel….merci!