Olive Oil Braised Potato and Fennel
Olive oil braised potato and fennel
It’s no secret I’m a fan of fennel. The evidence is the number of recipes in my archive that feature fennel seed and/or fresh fennel bulb. Fresh fennel is grown somewhere in Australia all year round so it’s never really out of season. The price drops as the weather cools in reaction to the increased abundance of supply.
This is a slightly modified recipe from Marcella Hazan’s “The Classic Italian Cookbook.” I’ve replaced the celery she used for thickly sliced fresh fennel bulb and adjusted the seasonings a little. The recipe was super simple to prepare and the finished dish highlighted the quality of the freshly dug potatoes I used. The olive oil had taken on the subtle aniseed flavour of the fennel creating a delicious dressing for the simple potatoes.
I give the Italians credit for knowing how to simply but masterfully cook vegetables with skill and care. Served beside pan fried fish fillets, this Olive Oil Braised Potatoes and Fennel was the perfect accompaniment.
Olive Oil Braised Potatoes and Fennel
550g fresh potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled
2 bulbs of fresh fennel
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
sea salt
black pepper
Scrub the potatoes clean but do no peel them. Cut into large chunks.
Cut the tops from the fennel and save a few green fronds for garnish.
Discard any bruised parts of the fennel then cut the bulb into 2cm thick wedges.
Put the potatoes, fennel, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a wide pan and add enough cold water to cover the potatoes.
Bring the pan to the boil, cover tightly, reduce the heat to a high simmer then cook until the potatoes are done when tested with a skewer.
Remove the potatoes from the pan and set aside.
Turn up the heat under the pan and reduce the braising liquid until all that remains is olive oil.
Return the potatoes to the pan, toss in the oil, cover and reheat.
Check the seasoning, transfer to a serving bowl and scatter with greens from the fennel frond.
Serve immediately.
Serves 4 as a side dish.
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22 comments on “Olive Oil Braised Potato and Fennel”
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Please Pass the Recipe by Sandra Gay is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Please Pass the Recipe 
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Fresh dug potatoes !! Fresh fennel bulbs !! So many good things you have.
Best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
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Thanks Mae, some food is meant too be..
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Love fennel and potato on a plate, but oddly I’ve never done both together in a dish. What a superb idea xx
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Soul mates Scarlet, do try them together
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I think I will now! Thank you for that 🙂
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Yum! I actually have fennel in the garden too 🙂 I usually use it in salads so good to have a reminder about how lovely it is cooked until tender.
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Fennel has a wonderful synergy with potatoes. This is simple but delicious
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A perfect ‘contorno’. Making this tonight to go with flathead.
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Yum..
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I wish more people would try fennel. This is one of my favorite pairings!
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Fennel is gaining in popularity here, although still not mainstream. There are so many ways to enjoy fennel, I love it with potato too 😀
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Put simply, just lovely.
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Thanks Cheery…
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I look at the inviting dish and smile: its recipe surely follows the KISS principle and proves it right !
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Indeed! 😘
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I could happily eat that, hot or cold. What a lovely summery dish … can’t wait for my fennel bulbs to plump up. At least I hope they do, they’re a bit hit and miss as a crop in our garden. Lx
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Good luck encouraging the fennel to grow plump. I hadn’t thought about serving the olive oily potatoes and fennel cold but I think it would be equally delicious
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Lovely! I much prefer fennel bulb to celery. I I have to use celery, I much prefer the leaf rather than the ribs which seem to me to be rather bland and stringy. Fennel and potato (and simple Italian cooking techniques) sounds a superb combination. Fennel is a winter crop here in Greece, and we grow it in the garden. I also love the fronds and use this extensively in cooking, too – particularly in winter stews.
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Remember this for fennel season Debi, it was much better than I anticipated. I’m planning on making it again tonight
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Thank you for sharing this recipe.
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You’re welcome Rupale 🙂
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