Ingredients

Servings 4

• 1 lb fennel
• 12 tablespoons grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• ¼ cup butter
• salt to taste

Preparation

10 minutes preparation + 20 minutes cooking

Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Meanwhile, wash and trim the fennel, by removing the tough outer leaves.
When the water begins to boil, add salt and the fennel.

Cook for about ten minutes.
Then, remove and let cool. Once cool, cut into thick slices.

Meanwhile, heat the oven and grease a baking dish with butter.  Melt the remaining butter in a frying pan.

Then, alternate layers of fennel sprinkled with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a little butter in the baking dish until you have used all the ingredients.

Bake the dish at 375 ° F and broil the fennel for 20 minutes.
The dish is ready when the surface is golden brown.

Food history

Fennel is a Mediterranean herb. The white, fleshy part is called the heart and can be eaten raw in salads (particularly tasty when served with slices of orange), but at the same time is excellent baked, fried, baked or simply boiled.
Both the fronds and seeds of wild fennel are use in cooking. One of the most famous Italian recipes that use wild fennel is the Sicilian pasta with sardines.
The "seeds" are used primarily for flavoring sausages (such as the Tuscan sausage called Finocchiona), spicy or sweet tarallini crackers from Puglia, teas, and liquors.
Fennel is devoid of starch and fat, so it has a few calories.

Other suggested recipes

• Pasta with fennel, carrot and onion
• Parmesan and artichoke salad
• Stuffed onions