Braised Fennel with Gravy

Well, I made another delicious and seasonal dinner tonight. Tempeh with my berbere marinade, an experimental dish with roasted beets, eggplant, peppers in a curry mustard sauce (it needs more perfecting before it goes on this blog) and, finally, braised fennel with gravy. Tonight, I'll let you know the recipe for this absolutely delicious fennel. Savory, rich, and effing delicious. Definitely the best part of this dinner.

For two side servings, you'll need:

• 1 bulb of fennel
• 1 T olive oil
• a couple dashes salt & pepper
• 1/4 + 1/8 c veggie broth (homemade is best, of course!)
• 1-2 t flour (use rice flour and it'll be gluten free)

The steps:

1. Prep your fennel. Cut the stems off and discard (or save for a crunchy snack). Slice fennel bulb lengthwise in roughly 1/2 inch slices.
2. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat and add fennel slices.
3. Brown fennel slices. Flip once. Cook for a total of 5-8 minutes or until nicely brown and caramelized on each side.
4. Reduce heat to low and add broth, salt, and pepper.
5. Cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until fennel is tender.
6. When fennel is cooked, remove from pan but leave cooking liquid, simply dish out onto your plates
7. Return heat to high and quickly stir the liquid until it bubbles. Reduce heat to low.
8. Add a small handful of flour, sprinkled across the pan. Quickly stir, ensuring not to burn the flour. Stir until completely incorporated and smooth. 
9. Quickly pour the gravy over the fennel and serve.