Fenugreek-Pisco Fennel Garnish

This will turn out to be a non-trivial amount of work for a protein garnish, but it is fun to do. This recipe is modified from a baby-fennel recipe I used to do in New York, and the result is mostly the same. This is the time of year we're getting our fennel bulbs from our farm delivery, so finding cool stuff to do with them is the work.

A few notes before I start: the essence of this blog is how to make fine cuisine with the what you have on hand, and fenugreek and Pisco aren't run-of-the-mill items. Fenugreek is sold most commonly in American stores as a tiny yellow pebble-looking seed in the spice area, but it can be found in special Turkish or other Mediterranean specialty grocers as dried or fresh leaves. It is a main component of that wonderful Turkish Doner-kabob or shish-kabob smell or flavor. It's recognizable and awesome. It's also not totally necessary for this dish. Pisco is a Chilean and Peruvian brandy at about 70 proof, and can be substituted for with wine or a higher octane spirit.

Starting off you want to clean up the fennel and slice it for work. Here we see mine has been used already for something else (salad maybe):

Next we get some of the supplies needed. Pepper mill, kosher salt, and chili-flakes (optional) all are rather regular kitchen staples. The dark liquid is stock, which I usually have on hand from making our cat's food regularly (from boiling chicken carcasses), and the light liquid in the plastic measuring cup is the Pisco. Again, wine or another spirit would work, but the alcohol element is necessary. I'm not showing the fenugreek because you don't truly need it, and mine is so old I'm not sure of its potency anymore. I'm not showing the spice tumeric, which you will need. Tumeric is a yellow powder that stains everything it touches neon yellow or green or orange, and is something a spice cabinet should stock. You'll never know when you'll need it, and a little goes a long way, so it's not so bad to have.

Make sure you slice out the hard core bits from the bulb, and get rid of any brown spots. Also shown are a few minced garlic bulbs.

In your pan start with some hot oil, then add the fennel, and salt and pepper.

As the fennel softens, add the garlic and chili flakes and fenugreek (if you've got it), but make sure they don't burn. As they toast, add a sprinkle of tumeric:

As the aromas start to blend and the fennel still retains some crunch (it's a tough bulb, and will caramelize a bit before it ultimately softens), deglaze with the Pisco/alcohol element:

Let it reduce until there's no liquid (using perhaps less than what I've shown in my earlier photo), and then add the stock. Again, use less than in my photo. Bring to a simmer and let it go for a bit:

In the New York recipe the amounts of liquid are both quite small, so in the end, the tiny bit of liquid residue and the soft and tasty fennel can be mounted with butter and turned into something so savory and delicious that you don't know what happened. I didn't mount it with butter, but that's mainly because I added too much stock. That's not the worst thing, though.

As a garnish, use a slotted spoon and place the fennel on top of a red-meat protein, beef or lamb work best. Yummy: