Braised Fennel With Meyer Lemon and Parmesan

By Jill Santopietro

Braised Fennel With Meyer Lemon and Parmesan
Tony Cenicola/The New York Times. Food Stylist: Jill Santopietro.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(381)
Notes
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Ingredients

Yield:Serves 4
  • 2fennel bulbs, fronds attached
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½cup chicken broth
  • Grated rind and juice of 1 Meyer lemon
  • Sliced Parmesan cheese
Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Trim the fennel and roughly chop 1 tablespoon of the fronds. Halve each bulb through the core, then cut lengthwise into ½-inch-thick slices.

  2. Step 2

    Place a large skillet over medium-high heat and add just enough oil to coat the pan. When hot, cook half the fennel, without moving, until browned, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining fennel, adding more oil to the pan if needed.

  3. Step 3

    Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Add the fennel, broth, lemon rind and juice and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, until tender, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Raise the heat to high and reduce the sauce until syrupy, 3 to 5 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Fold the sauce and reserved fronds into the fennel and top with Parmesan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
381 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Pat Brownlie

Wanted a great fennel dish for dinner and this was it. Did modify it a bit by taking a few ideas from David Tanis' Fennel al Forno recipe, particularly by adding the fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and the chopped rosemary and also added chopped fennel fronds.

Amy

Easy, yummy, wonderful recipe. Added vermouth to skimpy amount of sauce before reducing. Used fennel seeds and small amount red pepper flakes as recommend by Pat. Came out perfect---guests raved.

Kelly

A splash of Sambuca, Pernod or Ouzo won’t hurt here.

Gottlob Frege

Don't skimp on lemon! Does need a bit more liquid.

Mike

Good put grated cheese not sliced

DEH

just add some more broth..That's what I did.

sandy

I used one small fennel bulb added some rosemary very little olive oil and it only took three minutes to cook the fennel used about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and a small amount of chicken stock had very little sauce but was tasty

Isabel

We love this dish! We found it needed more than 10 minutes to get tender, and it needed more liquid (just added water). Delicious flavor, especially with the Meyer lemon.

Randy

Wanted a great fennel dish for dinner and this was it. Did modify it a bit by taking a few ideas from David Tanis' Fennel al Forno recipe, particularly by adding the fennel seeds, red pepper flakes and the chopped rosemary and also added chopped fennel fronds. Added vermouth to skimpy amount of sauce before reducing.

Caroline

This was so so good! I didn’t have Meyer lemon, but I did have preserved lemon and added half of one in half-moon slices. Also a little white wine in with the broth.

bonnie

Good, added red pepper flakes and fennel seeds. Needs more liquid.

msl

I mean, it was fine. My fennel was a little small, but cooking to the indicator meant they still had a bite to them. The sauce was good, just a little too lemony/not savory enough. Agree with other reviewers that there really wasn’t much sauce at all. I served this with sweet potato coins with a toasted walnut, maple, and sage garnish.

LK

Used regular lemon and a scoop of brown sugar (big spoonful per lemon) Used a Mandoline to slice the fennel

Posy Gering

Followed the others’ suggestions about adding red pepper, fennel seeds, and rosemary. Sautéed some salmon and served it all over pasta — delicious.

Linda

I loved the taste, however; I agree with others that there was no sauce. Next time I will add more chicken stock so that there is something to reduce.

EH

I'll need to rework this next time. I used one small home-grown Meyer lemon and it was entirely too lemony and I had to counter that with a bit of butter and a pinch of sugar. Not enough liquid/sauce as others have mentioned so I added more broth. I cut the fennel to 1/2 an inch and cooked it even longer than directed and it was still a bit tough. Sigh.

Kate

My large pan accommodated all the fennel easily. Made as written. We loved it. Local neighborhood myer Lemon provided plenty of sweet flavorful juice. Truly a keeper

Pat from NYC

I'm sorry, not a big fan of fennel; can other veggies be used?

Tom sfba

You can, using the Search icon in the upper right-hand corner, try searching the term “braised” and then any vegetable you want to cook. For example: braised celery yields: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020614-braised-celery-with-thyme-and-white-wine

D. Reyes

I was out of ideas and this is an easy, delicious recipe. Thank you.

Dena

The leftover broth is insanely good and can be served in espresso cups as an amuse-bouche at a different meal.

Barbara

If I have no Meyer lemon, what's a good substitute?

Tom sfba

A mixture of regular lemon juice and 1/3 to 1/2 of that vloume orange juice. Meyer lemons are sweeter and vary in sweetness more than ordinary lemons, so there is a greater range.

lupi

Where does the red color in the picture of the dish come from?

Clover88

Has become a go to in our meal rotation. Lots of flavor and can be a side dish with lots of different mains.

harriet

Instead of chicken stock using miso ginger broth

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