Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/635436
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 3 FEBRUARY 2016 14 Food Fantastic fennel recipes on Gourmet Today TV A walk around the local countryside is enough to tell you fennel is in season right now, with rich anise aromas filling the cold air. Sean Gravina makes some interesting recipes using fennel – whether the bulbs or the seeds. He makes a great appetizer of homemade crackers, flavoured with fennel seeds and hazelnuts, topped with caramelized pears and mascarpone. He also makes a great one-pot meal of pilaf rice with Italian sausage and local prawns – prefect for a cold weekday evening. Don't miss Gourmet Today TV, every Friday at 18:15. Surf and turf pilaf rice Serves 4 Ingredients: Cracker dough • 125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting • ½ tsp baking powder • 1 tbsp olive oil • salt Cracker topping • 60ml olive oil • 35g hazelnuts, chopped • 2 tbsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed • 2 tbsp caster sugar • Caramelised pears • ½ vanilla pod Brandy pears • 40g caster sugar • 3 William pears, peeled, cored and cut into wedges • 15g unsalted butter • 3 tbsp brandy • 80g mascarpone Method: 1. Put all the ingredients of the cracker dough into a stand mixer and bring it to a dough with the kneading attachment. 2. Knead by hand for a few mins until the dough is soft and pliable. 3. Cover with cling film and let rest for 1 hour. 4. Pre heat oven to 220°C. 5. Dust some flour on the work surface and pinch pieces of the dough about 12g each and roll out as thinly as possible and cut into individual crackers. Use cutters for a cleaner cracker. 6. Place the crackers on lined baking trays. 7. Place all the ingredients for the cracker topping, except the olive oil, into a pestle and mortar and crush. 8. Brush the crackers with olive oil and scatter the topping. 9. Bake for roughly 6-8 mins until crisp and golden. 10. Remove from the heat and leave to cool on a cooling rack. 11. To make the pears, place the vanilla pod in a spice grinder together with 1 table spoon sugar and blitz until finely ground. 12. Add the rest of the sugar to the mix. 13. Toss the pears in the vanilla mix until coated evenly 14. Put a large frying pan on high heat and heat well, add the butter. 15. Lay the pears, along with any excess sugar, in the pan and cook for 3 mins on each side to get it golden on each side. 16. Reduce the heat and continue cooking for 3-5mins, until the pears soften and the sugar turns a golden caramel in colour. 17. Remove the pan from the heat and add 2 tbsp water and toss. 18. Return the pan to the heat and, once boiling add the brandy. 19. Let it bubble for 2-3 minutes. The caramel will thicken slightly to coat the pears. 20. Place a cracker on each plate and serve with the pears and their sauce alongside, with a spoonful of mascarpone. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 30 January, 2016 Caramelized pears on fennel seed crackers Serves 4 – 6 Ingredients: • ½ cinnamon stick • ½ tsp black peppercorns • 2 cloves • 2 bay leaves • Vegetable oil for cooking • 2 onions, diced • 4 celery sticks, tough strings removed with a vegetable peeler and thinly sliced • 1 green pepper, cored, deseeded and diced • 1 fennel bulb, tough core removed, diced • 200g Italian sausage, cut into 2cm dice • 6 plum tomatoes, diced • 4 garlic cloves, finely grated • 2 tsp salt • 2 tsp cayenne pepper • ½ bunch thyme, tied with kitchen string • 175g basmati rice, rinsed • 350ml chicken stock • 250g peeled large raw prawns (tail shell intact), de-veined • 2 tbsp chopped parsley • Salt and pepper Method: 1. Wrap the cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves in a small piece of muslin and tie into a bundle with kitchen string and set aside. 2. Heat some oil in a heavy based casserole dish over high heat. 3. Add the onions and fry till they are nicely browned, stirring frequently for 5-7 mins. 4. In a separate pan, fry the celery, green pepper and fennel, till they get plenty of colour. 5. Add the veg to the caramelized onions. 6. Sear the sausage on all sides in a separate pan until nicely browned. 7. Add the sausage to the casserole dish and give a good stir. 8. Add the tomatoes, garlic, salt cayenne, bunch of thyme and spice bag. Now add the rice and give everything a good stir until the rice is coated. 9. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil over high heat. 10. Lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 20-25 mins until the rice absorbs the stock and is cooked through. 11. Add the prawns and give a stir and cook for about 3 mins. 12. Remove the thyme and spice bag and serve immediately in warmed bowls. This recipe first appeared on Gourmet Today TV, aired on TVM on 30 January, 2016.