This recipe for Fennel Parmigiana is adapted from the cookbook Hazana – Jewish Vegetarian Cooking, written by Paolo Gavin.

It is the first book I have of Paola who has written 3 other vegetarian cookbooks, Mediterranean Vegetarian Cooking, Italian Vegetarian Cooking and French Vegetarian Cooking. The book is an interesting read, covering Jewish food culture from regions such as Austria, Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Romania and many more. This fennel parmigiana recipe hails from Italy and is so good, especially with winter in full swing.

The recipe is super simple and with just 5 ingredients the fennel becomes buttery, rich and meltingly tender. I replaced the butter in the original recipe with extra virgin olive oil and used baby fennel which I halved but you can use larger fennel and quarter the bulbs. The fennel pieces are steamed, then gently fried in the olive oil and garlic. After that the pieces are placed on a baking tray, sprinkled liberally with grated parmesan and baked until melted and a golden brown. And don’t forget all the burnt bits stuck to the pan. Yum!

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Fennel Parmigiana. If you’ve made the recipe share it with me by tagging @heinstirred on Instagram or Facebook with the hashtag #heinstirred.

Olive Oil provided by Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I am proud to be associated with Baleia Extra Virgin Olive Oil and use it whenever a recipe requires Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The South African cold press extra virgin Olive Oil is produced in the Riversdale area, has a whiff of fresh cut grass and aromas of green tomatoes, almonds artichokes and green apples.

This recipe first appeared in the Sunday Times Food Weekly

Fennel Parmigiana

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Ingredients

4 fennel bulbs
3 tbsp olive oil
1 fat clove garlic mashed
salt and pepper to season
100 g parmesan cheese grated

Instructions

Cut the fennel into wedges
Steam for 10 - 15 minutes until just tender
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and cook over a gentle heat for 3 minutes
Add the fennel and cook over a gentle heat for a further 5 minutes
Arrange the fennel wedges in a single layer in a well oiled baking dish and season with salt and pepper
Drizzle with any leftover oil from the pan, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is golden brown
Serve immediately with all the crispy bits of cheese in the pan