“Confit” is the term for slow cooking something to tenderness in a (typically) oil bath, and for whatever it is that has been cooked this way. This may seem like a lot of oil, but the oil is part of the yield of this dish, and is great for building other dishes. Use it with braised meats and for flavoring fennel poached fish, or use it to flavor spreads like tapenade or on a sandwich. The fennel confit can be used to top cocques and pizzas, as a base for fish or chicken, or in salads and sandwiches, among many other things, and is great for giving you a quick jumping off point for quick meals.
INGREDIENTS:
2 large bulbs of fennel, stalks and fronds removed and reserved for another use 2 cups olive oil or as needed 1/8th teaspoon anise seeds ½ teaspoon fennel seeds -Optional- ½ to 1 star anise pod depending on how strong it is -Optional Special Equipment- A small piece of cheesecloth to tie up the spices in. This makes it easier to pick them out of the fennel after it is cooked
METHOD:
Gently crush the spices with a pan bottom, meat bat, rock, or some such. Just enough to crack them, not pulverize. Wrap them in just enough cheesecloth to keep them together and knot the end.
Put 2 cups of oil into a sauce pan, one with a small base diameter preferably, and add the sachet. Heat the oil over medium low heat.
While the oil heats, halve the fennel bulbs across the widest part and remove the core. Slice the halves across into ¼ inch slices and add to the oil. Add oil if needed to cover the fennel by ¼ inch.
When all the fennel has been added, bring the oil to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes. The fennel should be meltingly soft in texture with a smooth fennel flavor. Remove the pot from the heat and cool to room temperature.
As soon as you can do it without hurting yourself, pull the spice sachet from the pot and squeeze out any oil you can and discard the sachet.
When the oil is cool, strain it into a container. The oil is ready for use and will keep in the refrigerator for a couple weeks before the flavor dies off.
Transfer the fennel confit to a covered container and store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Chef’s Notes:
You can make this without the all the spices, or any of them for that matter. The spices help to emphasize and amplify the flavor of the fennel and add nuance.
The oil can be added to softened butter to make a compound butter, used to cook eggs or meats. It is best to use it for low temperature cooking or for finishing/seasoning things. The confit can be pureed with a little stock to make a quick sauce for fish, seafood, or light meats. Use it for pizzas, sandwiches, or toss it with a fennel vinaigrette and some boiled new potatoes for a warm potato salad.
Yield: Around 2 cups of both oil and fennel
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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