As it is in season at the moment and I’m really enjoying cooking with it, I thought I’d share two veggie recipes I’ve made this week featuring fennel.

I’ve always been a little scared off by fennel due to its strong aniseed aroma. But now that I’ve cooked with it a few times, I’ve found the flavour to be subtle, faintly aromatic and gives a dish a refreshing taste.

It’s also a great digestive tonic, especially in its raw form (and aperitif in its alcoholic form). As a pre-dinner salad to get the digestive juices flowing, mix thinly sliced fennel bulb, thin wedges of orange, mixed bitter lettuce and a few olives. Dress it with a mix of olive oil, orange juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Leave for around 10 mins before eating. Delicious!

The first recipe I cooked was a fennel and lemon risotto. The flavours were recommended to me by Shelley at the Melbourne Community Farmer’s Market in Collingwood. I was looking at her fennel wondering what to do with it and she shared her daughter’s favourite meal – “lemon and fennel risotto with some spinach stirred through it” – and I was sold. For the following recipe, I took the rice/stock measurements from Stephanie Alexander’s The Cook’s Companion and made the rest up. I must say, it was divine – the lemon just lifted the whole meal. I’ll make it with brown rice next week to let you know if that works as well.

fennel, lemon, spinach and mushroom risotto

2 medium sized bulbs of fennel, chopped

200g mushrooms, sliced

200g spinach, washed

the rind and juice of ½ a lemon

1 cup arborio rice

750ml – 1L of hot vegetable stock

1 small onion, finely diced

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

chopped parsley (optional)

45g parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

100ml dry white wine (optional)

• Heat some olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion and fennel until just translucent
• Add the mushrooms and cook until softened
• Add the rice and stir to coat with oil
• Add the hot stock half a cup at a time. Risotto needs to be watched and stirred pretty much constantly (good music and a glass of red helps considerably with this!) and you’ll be able to see when you’ll need to add more stock (when it is looking like it’s mostly absorbed but still not cooked). Adding a bit of stock at a time stops you from making the risotto too soft.
• Keep adding stock until it is al dente (just soft but still with a bite) – or the texture you like it (mine took about 35mins)
• Take the risotto off the heat, stir in the spinach, lemon rind, lemon juice and a few grinds of pepper to taste and put a lid on it – let it sit for 5 minutes.
• I didn’t use parmesan – nor wine or parsley as I didn’t have any. If you’d like to use them, mix the wine with the stock, and add the cheese and parsley at the end with the lemon. You can also use butter instead of oil – around 60g according to Stephanie Alexander.

Enjoy! Serves 2-3

My second dish uses fennel in part – but what a part it plays! It comes from Paul Gayer’s book, Pure Vegetarian.

olive polenta with roasted fennel, pumpkin and rocket pesto

1 litre vegetable stock

300g quick-cook polenta

50g stoned black olives, finely chopped

2 heads of fennel, peeled and cut into wedges

1 small butternut or 400g jap pumpkin, peeled and cut into wedges

salt and pepper to taste

• Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4
• Blanch the fennel wedges in boiling water for 3-4 mins and then drain well. Place in a baking tin with the pumpkin and brush with olive oil. Roast until tender and golden, around 20 mins
• Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and pour in the polenta, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir for 5-6 mins until it thickens and begins to leave the side of the pan. Stir in the olives
• Grease a 24cm square tin and pour in the polenta, making the top smooth with a knife. Put in the fridge to set
• Once cool, cut the polenta into 4 triangles then slice those in half. Brush with olive oil and place under the grill until they are golden and crusty
• Place on plate and top with wedges of fennel and pumpkin and dollop with pesto

rocket pesto

The below measurements are a guestimate. Add things slowly and taste as you go along to get the taste you want.

200gm rocket leaves, washed

½ cup of cashews (or ¼ cup pinenuts) – can dry roast for more flavour

1 garlic clove

100ml extra-virgin olive oil (put in about 50ml then add the rest some at a time while the food processor is running, just in case I’m way off)

salt and pepper to taste

• Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth

Serves 4