Fennel Salad with Herbs & Pastis

Fennel gently braised with herbs, lemon and a splash of pastis makes a fragrant southern French salad in this recipe by Michèle Roberts, taken from her book French Cooking for Two…

Serves 2 | Prep time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large fennel bulb
• 1 medium onion
• 1 medium garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp picked thyme
• 100 ml pastis
• 1 lemon
• Salt
• Pepper

METHOD

1. Trim the fennel, reserving the feathery leaves, and slice it. Steam it for five minutes.
2. Finely grate the peel of one half of the lemon. Peel and chop the onion and crush the garlic.
3. Sweat the onion and garlic gently in the oil with a pinch of salt until softened, stirring often. Add the herbs. Add the pastis and the juice of the lemon, and simmer all together for five minutes. Add the fennel. Add a splash of water if necessary, just enough to cover the fennel. Put on a lid and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove the fennel to your serving dish. If the sauce looks too thin, boil it down to reduce it a little, then pour it over the fennel. Grind over some pepper, garnish with the chopped fennel leaves and sprinkle with the grated lemon peel. Arrange the bay leaf on top as a flourish. Cool before eating.

A note from Michèle

Fennel goes very well with fish and is often served alongside it. I think it is very good on its own. It is also traditionally paired with pastis, which lifts it into the luxury bracket. Just as you might have a glass of pastis with a friend after a game of boules in the south of France, so you might cook this dish to indulge a fantasy of being back there, in baking sun in late summer, hearing the clunk of the heavy silvery boules, watching them scud across the pitch, thud to a stop, settle. The winner buys the drinks. When you eat this dish with a valued friend you both win.

Lead photo credit : Photo: Shutterstock