Braised Fennel with Peaches and Almonds
Delicious braised fennel, cooked with peaches and paired with almond flour—A must-make vegetable dish that goes well with protein-centric dishes like lamb, chicken, or oily fish!
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 212kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large fennel bulbs 1 ½ pounds or 700 grams
- 2 fresh peaches or 290 grams of frozen peach wedges
- 3 tablespoons real butter or olive oil to keep it dairy-free and vegan-friendly
- 1 tablespoon vegetable broth seasoning I prefer vegetable broth and seasoning from Seitenbacher—see note
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste, and black pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown rice syrup optional, or Monk fruit sweetener or maple syrup—see note
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ cup roasted almonds chopped or 2 tablespoons almond meal or almond flour—see note
- ½ cup water (or vegetable or chicken stock) 110 ml
Instructions
- Cut the root ends from the fennel bulbs and discard them. Separate the stalks from the bulbs by cutting about 1 inch above the bulb. Chop the fennel stalks, then quarter the fennel bulbs, and further cut each quarter piece in half.
- Cut open the peaches in the center and around the pit. Open the fruits to expose them. Take the pit out and discard it. Slice the peaches further into thin wedges.
- In a large sauté pan with a lid, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
- Add all the fennel pieces. Cook the fennel for 3 minutes on both sides or until the vegetable is translucent and slightly browned.
- Season with a few pinches of salt and a few pinches of Monk fruit sweetener if used.
- Lower heat to medium. Add the peach wedges—arrange them in between the fennel pieces.
- Cook and stir for 3 minutes to soften the peaches.
- Then stir in the syrup or sweetener of choice.
- Pour over the liquid, and season with salt, black pepper, vegetable broth seasoning, and cardamom.
- Stir in the almond meal or flour—if preferred use chopped almonds.
- Cover the pan and let the liquid come to a gentle simmer.
- Then reduce the heat to low and further simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- The fennel and the flesh of the peaches should be soft— some peaches might have almost broken down.
Notes
- Note on vegetable seasoning: you can also use nutritional yeast instead, or vegetable bouillon powder.
- Note on sweetener: brown rice syrup or Monkfruit sweetener will be less sweet than when using maple syrup.
- Note on the almond meal: you can use chopped almonds, but an almond meal or flour will slightly thicken the liquid. Also, note that almond meal has a coarser consistency leaving small specks of almond skin (it's supposed to be there). Use almond flour instead if you prefer the finest grind like regular flour.
- You can also use the fennel stalks in this recipe or save and use them to make chicken stock.
- You can also use frozen peach wedges and you don't need to defrost them.
Nutrition
Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 759mg | Potassium: 651mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 664IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 1mg