Enjoy this breaded fennel seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, and Parmesan cheese.
New vegetable, new flavor, new experience – that explains this breaded fennel quite well. Fennel is eaten and added to many Mediterranean dishes but I had never cooked with it or eaten it before. Craig enjoyed fennel on his LDS mission to Italy often and usually ate it raw, it has a refreshing crisp flavor a bit like black licorice. All the parts of the fennel plant can be used; the bulb, stalk, leaves, and seeds. This breaded fennel uses the bulb sliced thinly and fried.
Fennel is also very healthy for you; loaded with vitamin C, has anti-inflammatory benefits, and helps prevent the occurrence of cancer. Wow – this should be the new kale. If the health benefits don’t convince you to try this breaded fennel maybe the flavor will. It is seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme, and Parmesan cheese.
Breaded Fennel
Ingredients
- 1 large fennel bulb
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 TBS olive oil (enough to cover the frying pan)
Instructions
- Cut the stalk and leaves off your fennel bulb
- Slice your bulb in half top to bottom
- Continue to slice your fennel bulb top to bottom to make as many 1/8 to1/4 inch slices
- In a flattish bowl, crack your two eggs and beat until it is all mixed in
- In another flattish bowl, put your flour, salt, pepper, and thyme - stir together
- In your 3rd flattish bowl, pour your Panko bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, mix together
- Heat your oil in a large flat bowl frying pan
- Once the oil is heated up enough to frying (I dropped a tiny, tiny bit of egg in to test) you are ready to prepare your fennel bulb and start frying
- Dredge each slice of fennel one at a time; first in your egg, then through your flour (turning to coat both sides) and lastly in the Panko bread crumbs/Parmesan cheese mixture (turn to coat both sides with the bread crumbs also)
- Finally add the breaded fennel slices to your hot oil and fry on both sides until it is crispy (this took about 1 to 2 minutes for me - but watch yours it could be faster)
- Do this with each slice - it depends on the size of your fennel and your frying pan how many pieces you can fry at once
- Once the bulb is fried and the breading crisp remove from the pan and place on a plate layerd with several paper towels to gather the excess oil
- Serve
Enjoy this new way to eat fennel! Have you every eaten fennel before? what recipes have you used it in?
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