As a child, growing up in my families household we always ate meticulously prepared meals. Consequently, if you wanted to show appreciation, you left nothing behind on the plate. Mostly my father prepared the meals — although, my mother cooked some. The bare naked truth about this fennel and potatoes dish is back then; my appreciation would have been severely lacking.
Of course, like so many of us, as an adult, I have grown to appreciate and love a variety of foods. Mainly, the ones that were unheard of in our house back then. One of those foods is fennel.
What is Fennel?
Likely, you have mistaken fennel for a weird type of celery. It has ribs, it’s green, and there are leaves — all very similar to celery. Certainly, fennel has a similar crunch to celery. However, fennel does not taste anything like celery. The texture is where the similarities end. Raw fennel has a very distinct taste; somewhat similar to black licorice with a sweet frame. However, once cooked, the flavor mellows and becomes genuinely desirable. It is quite the quick-change artist (in the food world).
Additionally, fennel is also used to assist with some health issue. As well as, it is used in soaps and cosmetics. For more information on these uses go to www.webmd.com
The Dish
Fennel and potatoes are super delicious all by themselves (they make a delish side dish as well). Although, toss some flavorful chicken atop of it, and it becomes a fantastic one pan meal. Um… I think this has become one of my favorite dishes.
Finally, now on to this recipe: It’s extra delicious because the sauce is —drumroll, please — spicy mustard, garlic, and olive oil. Tell the truth; who doesn’t love those ingredients.
Let’s Cook
The most noteworthy thing about this dish, it has very few steps, certainly none of them are complicated at all! Try to keep up now:
First of all, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the 2 tbsp of olive oil around the bottom of a baking dish. Add the sliced fennel in a single layer.
Evenly distribute the cut potatoes on top of the fennel and sprinkle with all of the oregano.
The Sauce
Combine the mustard, garlic, juice of 1/2 lime, remaining olive oil and salt. Stir until well mixed. Coat each thigh with a generous amount of the mixture. Save any remaining.
I love chicken thighs! Yes, I could go forever without ever eating any other part of the chicken. For this recipe I used boneless skinless thighs. But, you can certainly use thighs that have the bone and skin. Chicken breast is also another great option or even skin on chicken legs or wings.
Arrange each thigh on top of the fennel and potatoes, being sure to spread them out to cover as much as possible. Pour on any remaining sauce.
Place the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before plating. Garnish the plate with fresh lime slices, chopped fennel prawns, cilantro and a pinch of ground cayenne pepper.
Here’s My Recipe
Fennel, Potatoes and Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 bulbs Fennel sliced into 3 pieces each
- 2 medium russet potatoes large chopped
- 4 large boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 3 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon course ground sea salt
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons fennel fronds lightly chopped
- 1 large lime 1/2 sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spread the 2 tbsp of olive oil around the bottom of a baking dish. Lay the sliced fennel in a single layer in the dish.
- Evenly distribute the cut potatoes on top of the fennel and sprinkle with all of the oregano.
- Combine the mustard, garlic, juice of 1/2 lime, remaining olive oil and salt. Stir until well mixed. Coat each thigh with a generous amount of the mixture. Save any remaining.
- Arrange each thigh on top of the fennel and potatoes, being sure to spread them out to cover as much as possible. Pour on any remaining sauce.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for approximately 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before plating. Garnish the plate with fresh lime slices, chopped fennel prawns, cilantro and a pinch of ground cayenne pepper.
If you have never tried fennel… yes, you absolutely must try the recipe. And as usual… the chicken thighs work like a charm. Moist, flavorful, yummy.
Drop a comment below and let me know what you think.
