Braised Chicken and Fennel

After the rains in January, the pot where I had planted green onions and fennel took off.  That's when I realized I had too many fennel in there and had to thin it out.

Fennel isn't everyone's taste.  If you don't like licorice, there really isn't any point in making this.  It's more subtle than licorice, with an almost floral taste, but yeah, you can't get around it.

I really have grown to like braised chicken.  It cooks faster than roasting and doesn't dry out.  Yes, there's a slightly different texture and you don't get the caramelization, but I have no problem with that tradeoff to have the seasonings work their way deep into the meat.

I had this with a variation of carrots with parsley and some excellent kale with ginger.  Next time I make that, I'll blog it.  While it would take a lot of discipline for me to become kosher, I'm experimenting with some kosher-style meal combos for Passover. Some day, I might even try to do a proper Shabbat meal plan.  I gave Melody Smurf a crock pot for her birthday, mainly because I've been considering getting one for myself.  It would be a necessary item if I wasn't turning on the stove or oven for a day.  But really, it would be so I could make a pot of baked beans while I was at work.

*8 pieces chicken (one breast counts as 2)

*1 large or 2 small bulbs fennel

1 Tb olive oil

*zest and juice of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Drizzle oil in a large skillet with a lid and heat over medium.  Add chicken, skin side down, and let it sear while you slice the fennel as if Frenching an onion.  I used the tops too, but fennel is mostly sold as just the bulb.

2.  Turn chicken right side up.  Arrange fennel in pan around the chicken.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Add water to cover, bring to a low boil, then lower heat to a simmer.  This is as hard as it gets.

3.  Cover pot and simmer until thickest piece of chicken registers 165º on a food thermometer, about 35-45 minutes.  Serve chicken with pieces of fennel.

Difficulty rating  π