Fennel with Stilton and Chiabatta

The new cookbook from SortedFood is called Hero Veg. Great things to cook with all kinds of veggies. Some are really under represented. Time to change it.

I changed the veg recipe to my preference. And it tastes soo good!

Fennel is the kind of veg that I love to eat. As a child I hated fennel tea and fennel hard candies. I actually try to avoid them still. But fresh fennel is something else. This cooking method lets it get a bit softer, but still retains the structure. The combination with the Stilton cheese is wonderful.
If you can´t get it at your Supermarket, try Roquefort.

recipe for 1 fennel bulb:
1 fennel with Greens still attached
5 juniper berries
1 lemon
100 ml White wine
2 tbsp butter
300 ml veg stock
3 tbsp Creme fraiche
3 tbsp Stilton cheese + 1 tbsp
2 slices Chiabatta bread
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 170 C
Put the bread slices in a mini Chopper and make some coarse breadcrumbs. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Stick in the oven for 8-10 min. Cool down.

Half the fennel, cut off the stems and save the greens for later.
Use an ovenproof pan and melt the butter until it foams. Place the fennel with the cut side down and cook for 5 min. It should get some brown bits.

Add lemon juice and crush the juniper berries and add them with the wine.
Reduce the liquid down to halve and add the veg stock. Bring back to a boil, cover with a lid or tin foil and stick it in the oven for 30 min.

Get the fennel out and pour the liquid into an other pan through a sieve.
Heat the liquid up and boil down to half.
Add Stilton and later creme fraiche.
Chop some fennel fonds and add to the sauce, use the rest for decoration.

Put the fennel on a plate.  Add sauce. Crumble some fennel over and toss the bread over.