Orange Sauteed Fennel with butter beans and quinoa
A quick and flavourful one-pan dish for a quick lunch or dinner. If you don't like fennel or don't know what to cook with it this humble yet delicious dish might change your mind. Can leave out quinoa for a smaller dish or try some other grains (bulgur, buckwheat).
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 small fennel bulbs
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 can butter beans 400g (or 250 g cooked beans)
- 1 orange, zest and juice
- 150 g white quinoa uncooked
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley or other herbs - dill, chives
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra to finish
- ½ tsp Caraway seeds optional
- ½ tsp garlic granules or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Warm a tablespoon of oil in a heavy skillet (I used cast iron), in the meantime peel and finely slice the onion. Put the onion in the pan with a pinch of salt and saute on the medium heat.
- Trim the top and tail from fennel bulbs, remove the outer layer if too dirty/hard and finely slice. Add fennel to the pan with some more salt, pepper (generous amount), caraway, garlic granules (optional) and a glug of oil, juice of half orange, orange zest (grated or thinly chopped) mix well and keep sauteeing mixing regularly. Make sure onion and fennel don't get brown, reduce the heat if needed.
- When onion and fennel get very soft (after about 10-12 mins) add a can of bean with the liquid and mix well. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
- In the meantime cook your quinoa separately in a small pot with 300ml of salted water or vegetable stock. Rinse before cooking.
- When quinoa is cooked add to the pan and mix everything well. Taste check and add more salt and pepper if needed. Cook for another 2-3 minutes till everything is well combined and mellow. Add the juice of the remaining orange half and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Serve sprinkled with fresh parsley with some bread on the side.