Posts Tagged fennel

Shaved Apple, Fennel, and Celery Salad

I love life’s simple pleasures: the colors of autumn, sipping a great cup of coffee, putzing about the house in my crappy old blue plaid pajama pants.

In my own life, I find that I am constantly striving for simplicity. I want to take the time to enjoy life’s simple pleasures. And to be quite honest, I’m failing miserably.

My life isn’t simple, at all.

I’m always busy.

I’ve probably said this before, but I’ve discovered that cooking can be extremely therapeutic. When I step into the kitchen, everything feels different. I fall into a certain rhythm while chopping, slicing, and stirring. I find enjoyment and fulfillment in tweaking and adjusting, tasting and perfecting.

Maybe it’s cheesy to admit, but the kitchen is where I find my sense of simplicity. Specifically, when I cook food and share it with others, somehow everything just feels right. And sometimes, this feeling translates directly into the actual food on the plate. When life feels busy and overwhelming, I’m often compelled to make food that is remarkably simple and beautiful.

This is one of those things. It isn’t fancy and it isn’t complicated.

It’s simplicity on a plate. It’s an apple and fennel salad, with a few simple ingredients mixed in.

It’s everything I’m striving for, and not quite achieving.

I’ll get there eventually.

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Shaved Apple, Fennel, and Celery Salad

Serving Size: 2

Ingredients

1 ripe apple

3 stalks of celery

1 small fennel bulb (with fronds)

1.5 teaspoons olive oil

1.5 teaspoons mayo

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

salt & pepper, to taste

Optional: Dried lovage or toasted pecans

Instructions

Using a mandoline (or knife or food processor), thinly shave the fennel bulb and celery stalks (reserve the fennel fronds for the dressing). With a paring knife, cut the apple into thin matchsticks. (I like to slice the apple with the mandoline and then use a knife to julienne the apple into smaller pieces.) Gently toss the apple, celery, and fennel together in a bowl.

Mince the fennel fronds until you have roughly 1 tablespoon. Stir together the olive oil, mayo, vinegar, minced fennel fronds, salt, and pepper (and lovage, if using). Taste, and adjust the portions if necessary.

Gently toss the salad with the dressing, just to coat. Serve at room temperature. Garnish with fennel fronds and toasted pecans.This salad keeps for about a day in the fridge, but it really tastes best the day you make it. Enjoy!

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http://rosemarried.co/2012/10/25/shaved-apple-fennel-and-celery-salad/

Potato and Kale Soup with Rosemary and Tomatoes

And just like that, it happened: summer turned into fall. The days are dreary and cold, and all I want to do is snuggle on the couch with fuzzy blankets and drink coffee and read books, etc. I want to hibernate.

In celebration of the season, I made a giant pot of potato and kale soup this week. I don’t generally eat soup during the summer months (it’s a weird rule I have), so I was really excited to make soup for the first time this season. I wasn’t disappointed. This soup is simple and rustic, the perfect soup to ring in the changing of seasons.

It’s been a strangely busy week, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet.

POTATO & KALE SOUP WITH ROSEMARY AND TOMATOES
Adapted from Nicole Franzen

Ingredients:
5-6 small red potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1 bunch of kale, roughly chopped
1 small fennel bulb, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 carrots, diced
1 container chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup red wine
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
Salt & pepper

Optional ingredients:
Parmesan, for garnish
Croutons, for garnish

Method:

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add in the garlic, fennel, and carrots. Cook until the onion is translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Deglaze the pan with some of the red wine (about 1/4 cup) and add in rosemary and thyme sprigs. Allow the vegetables to cook in the red wine until the liquid has reduced. Add in the rest of the wine, all of the stock, potatoes, and the fire roasted tomatoes. Season with salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.

Allow the soup to come to a boil, and then reduce to a gentle simmer. Let the soup simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, at least 30 minutes. The longer you allow the soup to cook, the better it will taste! (Note: you may need to add in a bit of water, as the potatoes will soak up a lot of the liquid.)

Shortly before you’re ready to eat the soup (10-15 minutes), remove the rosemary and thyme sprigs and add in the chopped kale. (I like the kale to retain some of it’s flavor and vibrancy, so I like to add it in at the end. It cooks very quickly.)

Once the kale is cooked (10 minutes, give or take), remove the soup from the heat. Serve while warm, and garnish with croutons and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Fennel and Kale Meatloaf (with Bacon)

There are two main factors that contributed to my decision to make meatloaf in the middle of the summer:

1. The overabundance of kale in my garden.
2. The meatloaf pan my father-in-law gave me for Christmas.

I really wish I could just leave it at those two (odd) reasons, but I feel that I should provide you with somewhat of an explanation.

As for the kale, I feel it (mostly) explains itself. The stuff grows like weeds. Try as I might, I just cannot keep up with it. I’ve eaten kale with cheesy polenta. I’ve eaten kale in a raw kale and apple salad. I’ve thrown kale on a pizza. I’ve used kale in pesto. I’ve taken to giving away bags of kale to my friends. And, still, the kale keeps on comin’…

So, it should go without saying that I’m always on the lookout for clever kale recipes. When I stumbled across Good Stuff NW‘s recipe for Kale and Fennel Meatloaf, I felt like I hit the recipe jackpot. Not only did it incorporate kale, but it gave me a chance to use my meatloaf pan.

This brings me to the second reason I made this meatloaf: the fact that my father-in-law bought me a meatloaf pan for Christmas and I had yet to blog about meatloaf! I think this makes me a bad daughter-in-law (I kid, I kid). To be totally honest, I’ve made meatloaf a few times since receiving the meatloaf pan, but I hadn’t gotten around to actually posting any meatloaf recipes. Let’s be honest…while meatloaf is one of the tastiest comfort foods of all time, it isn’t exactly pretty to look at or photograph. Since meatloaf is so very un-pretty, I haven’t exactly been inspired to blog about it. Until now, that is.

But, let’s rewind a second. You’re probably still wondering what on earth a meatloaf pan actually is.

I wondered the exact same thing the first time my father-in-law told me about one. He told me (in no uncertain terms) that every chef must own a meatloaf pan. I’d never heard of such a thing, much less purchased one. And then he gave me my very own meatloaf pan for Christmas and my eyes were opened. Essentially, it is a pan within a pan. Let me show you:

(Image courtesy of HarrietCarter.com)

As you can see, the inner pan rests inside a larger outer pan. The inner pan has handy holes which allow the grease to drain out of the meatloaf and into the outer pan. This ensures that the meatloaf cooks evenly and quickly, and the end result is a moist meatloaf that isn’t overly greasy.

However, like the great Alton Brown, I am not a proponent of single task kitchen gadgets. I hate things that take valuable drawer space and only do ONE thing, i.e. strawberry hullers, garlic presses, etc. So, I can’t in good conscience go tell you all to go buy a meatloaf pan. It is quite singular in its purpose. For the sake of argument, though, I will say that the outer pan could easily double as a bread pan (when it isn’t catching your meatloaf drippings). And, this was the best darn meatloaf I have ever eaten, and I feel I owe it all to the magical meatloaf pan. So take it for what you will.

So, a big thank you to my father-in-law for the gift of a meatloaf pan. And thanks to Kathleen from Good Stuff NW for giving me a fabulous meatloaf recipe to try (and tweak). I could not have been happier with the end result.

Fennel and Kale Meatloaf with Bacon
(Adapted from Good Stuff NW)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fennel bulb, finely diced
2 c. kale, sliced into chiffonade
2 lbs. ground beef
6 strips bacon, cut into 1/4″ pieces
1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh minced herbs: I used fresh oregano and dried basil (use whatever you’ve got on hand!)
1 Tablespoon pork lard/fat*

*Note: traditional meatloaf recipes call for a mixture of ground beef and ground pork or sausage. I didn’t have ground pork or sausage so I substituted bacon and pork fat. It worked out wonderfully.

Method:
Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large frying pan or skillet, cook bacon pieces over medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon from pan, set aside to cool. Pour off excess bacon fat into a container, set aside for use in the meatloaf. Leave 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan.

Return pan to heat, and cook onion, garlic and fennel bulb in bacon fat for 2-3 minutes. Add in kale and continue to cook, until vegetables are soft and the kale is wilted (5 minutes). Remove from heat, and allow mixture to cool.

Combine ground beef, egg, milk, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and herbs in large mixing bowl. Add in bacon pieces and stir in reserved bacon fat. Gently using your hands, mix in the fennel and kale mixture, until everything is combined. Gently press into a meatloaf pan or bread pan (or form into a loaf and place on a baking sheet).

Bake 45 minutes to an hour, or until a thermometer inserted in thickest part reads between 140-150°. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Serve with mashed potatoes (or whatever else you want to eat it with!). I doused my slice of meatloaf with just a dash of Lucille’s BBQ sauce.