Recipes With Leeks And Fennel

This dish was inspired by the fennel stew from Heidi Swanson’s Near and Far. I envisioned its flavours as a quick-and-easy roasted side-dish, one that would allow you to throw all of the ingredients onto a sheet pan, stick it in the oven and be done with it. I tried roasting the vegetables, I tried braising the vegetables, and then I tried braising just the fennel, and roasting the leeks, onions and garlic chips separately. This two-technique process was a clear textural winner. Braising the fennel, a vegetable that can be fibrous and chewy, gives it a silky smooth melt-in-your-mouth texture that roasting doesn’t achieve, while roasting the leeks produces an irresistible crispy-crunchy topping that braising would leave soggy (you might want to double this component, its hard not to snack on!). I dropped Heidi’s feta and black-olive garnish, transformed the simmered beans into a creamy hummus and added a chile-fennel oil to reinforce the anise flavour that was mellowed by the braising. Braised fennel with crispy charred leeks and chili-fennel oil on hummus is not the sort of quick-and-easy recipe I intended to create. But, you should still make it. Let me explain.

I’ve said it before, I struggle with over-complicating my recipes and meal planning. I often bite off more than I can chew, and end up throwing out food I never got around to making, or find myself paralyzed at the grocery store when a few of the items from my carefully planned and specific list are not in stock or don’t look as fresh as I would like. I need to simplify. On the other hand, I’m sceptical of recipes that claim to be 20 or 30 minute meals. I find they often significantly under-estimate the time it takes to prep the ingredients; only consider one component of the meal, leaving out the time it takes to make the side or the grain and/or salad that needs to go with it; or resort to too many processed ingredients, essentially mixing together a number of jars and cans of things - which I don’t want to do. Is anyone actually a cooking dinner, made entirely from whole food ingredients, from scratch, start to finish, in 30 minutes?

So I’m trying to work out a way to simplify my meal planning and cook more “quick-and-easy” food, that works for me without attempting to cut my cooking time down to nothing. To this end, Carla Laila Music’s new cookbook Where Cooking Begins has been a great resource. Carla describes an approach to food that involves keeping a pantry well stocked with basics that could provide structure and flavour to a wide variety of meals (she orders these online), and shopping regularly for the “fun stuff” - the proteins and seasonal produce. She suggests shopping more frequently, for fewer items, and depending less on premeditated recipe plans, finding inspiration, instead, from what you find at the market and relying on your pantry staples to help you pull it together into a meal. For Carla, cooking begins with the ingredients, not the recipe. Shopping and cooking recipe-less is something that will take some practice for me, but having less fresh food in the house at any one time and relying on pantry staples to make use of what is left is transforming how I cook.

Sauteed Fennel And Leeks Recipe

Setting aside the caveat that, depending on our circumstances, we all need to prepare, or order, extremely quick food sometimes, evaluating the “quick-and easy” factor of our food at the level of an individual recipe can be short-sighted. Yes, we make just one recipe at a time, but feeding ourselves and our families is a continuous task, we will need more later.  Recipes that take time can be part of a quick-and-easy cooking strategy if the results of the labour that goes into them can be stretched out over multiple future meals. A lot of effort-saving cooking strategies work this way: spending the weekend prepping meals or ingredients for the week ahead, making big batches of your favourite recipes to freeze for future meals, and choosing recipes - like this braised fennel - that contain mini-recipes within them that can be used both for the meal you are making, and for future meals. In other words, there is more than one way for meals to be quick-and-easy, sometimes, a little more work now, means less work later.

I recently saw this sort of recipe element referred to as “hold-overs, ” and it is a wonderful concept. They’re leftovers in that they are meant to be eaten again, except they will be used differently from how they are used in the original recipe. Such repurposed leftovers are great for those of us, like myself, who tire quickly of eating the same thing over and over. What I love about this sort of cooking is, even if you spend considerable time in the kitchen, your effort is stretched out over multiple meals. A bit more time for this meal to really get the textures right, or develop more flavour, to make enough for a large number of people, or whatever the justification for putting a bit more time and effort into a recipe might be, but spend less time-per-meal, without having to resort to pre-made or processed ingredients.

This recipe contains two “hold-overs” for future meals: a shortcut canned-chickpea hummus and a chile-fennel oil. Honestly, before attempting to incorporate Carla’s approach to shopping and cooking, I would sometimes read recipes that made these sort of suggestions with scepticism “keep the leftovers of this salad dressing or sauce to have on hand for whatever.” Despite my good intentions, the leftover components would rarely be used. But, one benefit of having fewer ingredients in the house, of not meal planning quite so far ahead, is that it is easier to see what you have. It is easier to open the fridge and think, “oh yea, that chile oil, maybe I’ll just drizzle some of that on this toast I have here.”

Caramelized Leek, Fennel & Onion Gratin (vegan

Silky smooth braised fennel and an irresistibly crispy-crunchy roasted leeks, onions and garlic chip topping, drizzled with a chile-fennel oil and served over a creamy hummus. Serve as a side to fish or chicken, or add a salad, potatoes or grain and serve as a vegan main. If you don’t count olive oil, salt and pepper, its a 10 ingredient dish, most of which you probably have in your pantry, and both the shortcut canned-chickpea hummus and chile-fennel oil can be saved and used for future meals - they make a great breakfast hummus toast!This Caramelized Leek, Onion & Fennel Gratin is an easy one pan side dish that is creamy and so delicious.  It’s a great Vegan and Whole30 gratin to serve at your next family meal, everyone will love it without realizing it’s dairy free. 

Let’s be honest, when it comes to side dishes gratin has got to be high up on most people’s list. A creamy sauce, tender vegetables and a crunchy top, it’s just too good to resist.

Unfortunately if you are on a Dairy Free or Paleo diet, gratin which is usually packed with cream, cheese and butter, is strictly off limits.

Pasta With Leeks, Fennel, Tomatoes, And Guanciale

Enter this decadently rich and creamy Vegan and Whole30 gratin that tastes like it is packed with dairy!  Plus by swapping potatoes for leeks, fennel and onions, the dish has a delicious caramelized flavour.

I originally tried making this Leek, Onion & Fennel Gratin with coconut cream, but really struggled to mask the sweet coconut flavour which overpowered the dish, so I switched to my favourite vegan cream substitute, cashews. The sauce is so creamy and delicious that you would never know it doesn’t actually contain any dairy. Just make sure that you use a high speed blender or NutriBullet so that the cashews completely break down and there are no little bits remaining.

Although you could put the vegetables in raw and let them bake in the sauce in the oven, I love the caramelized flavour they develop when first cooked on the stove top. I find that this also makes the dish quicker to prepare and removes any of the uncertainty of whether the vegetables are fully cooked through after baking.

Roasted Leek, Fennel & White Bean Salad With Caesar Dressing — Joey & Katy Cook

I think this vegan gratin would be a fantastic addition to any Thanksgiving dinner. You could prepare this dish up to 2 days in advance by sautéing the vegetables and making the cashew cream and then simply combine them together and bake the day of.

If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!

This Caramelized Leek, Onion & Fennel Gratin is an easy one pan side dish that is creamy and so delicious.  It's a great Vegan and Whole30 gratin to serve at your next family meal, everyone will love it without realizing its dairy free. 

Braised Fennel With Crispy Charred Leeks And Chile Fennel Oil

Calories: 186 kcal Carbohydrates: 18 g Protein: 6 g Fat: 7 g Sodium: 375 mg Potassium: 578 mg Fiber: 5

Enter this decadently rich and creamy Vegan and Whole30 gratin that tastes like it is packed with dairy!  Plus by swapping potatoes for leeks, fennel and onions, the dish has a delicious caramelized flavour.

I originally tried making this Leek, Onion & Fennel Gratin with coconut cream, but really struggled to mask the sweet coconut flavour which overpowered the dish, so I switched to my favourite vegan cream substitute, cashews. The sauce is so creamy and delicious that you would never know it doesn’t actually contain any dairy. Just make sure that you use a high speed blender or NutriBullet so that the cashews completely break down and there are no little bits remaining.

Although you could put the vegetables in raw and let them bake in the sauce in the oven, I love the caramelized flavour they develop when first cooked on the stove top. I find that this also makes the dish quicker to prepare and removes any of the uncertainty of whether the vegetables are fully cooked through after baking.

Roasted Leek, Fennel & White Bean Salad With Caesar Dressing — Joey & Katy Cook

I think this vegan gratin would be a fantastic addition to any Thanksgiving dinner. You could prepare this dish up to 2 days in advance by sautéing the vegetables and making the cashew cream and then simply combine them together and bake the day of.

If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!

This Caramelized Leek, Onion & Fennel Gratin is an easy one pan side dish that is creamy and so delicious.  It's a great Vegan and Whole30 gratin to serve at your next family meal, everyone will love it without realizing its dairy free. 

Braised Fennel With Crispy Charred Leeks And Chile Fennel Oil

Calories: 186 kcal Carbohydrates: 18 g Protein: 6 g Fat: 7 g Sodium: 375 mg Potassium: 578 mg Fiber: 5