FENNEL AND LEEK RISOTTO

1.5 litres vegetable or chicken stock
1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium leek, white part only, thinly sliced and washed
1 medium fennel bulb, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced
325 g arborio (risotto) rice
120 ml white wine
2 tbsp chopped parsley
grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Pour the stock into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and hold over low heat. Heat the oil or butter in a frying pan over medium heat, add the leeks, a pinch of salt and pepper, and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, until the leeks are wilted. Add the fennel and garlic, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the rice and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Begin adding the stock a cup at a time, allowing the rice to absorb each cup of stock completely before adding more. Keep the pan on medium heat and continue to stir. When the rice has absorbed half the stock, add the wine. Continue adding stock, stirring constantly, until you have used most of the stock. As you stir in the last bit of stock, add a pinch of salt and a few pinches of pepper. The risotto should be quite saucy. Stir in the parsley, serve in warm bowls, and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

TAGLIATELLE WITH FENNEL

2 heads fennel, trimmed and quartered
1/2 kg (1 lb) taleteller (pasta)
2 tablespoons olive Oil
Grated parmesan
Parsley

Cook the chunks of Fennel in salty water. Once they are tender, drain them out and slice them up. Keep the slices warm by keeping them a covered bowl. In the fennel water, cook the Tagliatelle until soft. Drain the pasta, and mix in the olive oil and fennel pieces. To serve, sprinkle on the Parmesan cheese and the parsley. You may also like to add the discarded fennel leaves for extra taste. Delicious!

POTATO AND FENNEL BAKE

4 large potatoes (or 6 small), scrubbed
1 bulb Fennel
2 gloves garlic, crushed
300 ml single cream
300 ml milk
1 egg
Butter, for greasing
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Nutmeg

Preheat 190°C/ 375°F/ Gas Mark 5. Thinly slice the potatoes and fennel thinly. Butter a large baking dish and arrange the potato and fennel slices in alternative layers with the garlic and lots of seasoning in between. Mix the cream, milk, egg, nutmeg with lots of seasoning. Pour the mixture over the vegetables. Cover with foil and bake for about 1&1/2 hours, removing the foil for the last 30 minutes until brown on top.

FENNEL AND ORANGE SALAD

2 large oranges
1 bulb fennel
1 small onion (preferably red)
50 g rocket leaves

Dressing:

15 g pitted black olives
1 sun dried tomato in oil, drained
1 small clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
6 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Make the dressing first. Roughly chop the olives and the sun-dried tomato. Place in a food processor with the garlic, parsley and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Blend to a fairly smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and whisk the remaining oil, vinegar and seasoning to taste. Peel the oranges, removing the white pith. Cut into segments between the membranes- do this over a bowl to catch the juices to add to the dressing. Place the segments in a large bowl. Discard the tough outer layer of the fennel, then slice very thinly. Finely slice the onion. Toss the fennel, onion and rocket leave together with the oranges. Pour over the dressing, toss again until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

CAULIFLOWER AND FENNEL WITH CORIANDER VINAIGRETTE

1 medium cauliflower, broken into florets
1 small head of fennel, sliced
4 large lettuce leaves, shredded
25 g creamed coconut

For the dressing

110 ml olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons crushed coriander seeds
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped finely
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir the olive oil into the vinegar and season with the salt and pepper. Next add the coriander seeds and fresh coriander and then leave to marinate for an hour. Meanwhile, place the coconut in a saucepan and pour a pint of boiling water over the top. Stir until dissolved. Add the cauliflower florets and fennel and simmer for around 4 minutes. Drain and then leave to cool. Just before serving, dress with the vinaigrette and arrange on the lettuce leaves.