Fermented fennel
by
- Ferment
- Easy
- 10
- 30 minutes
PT30M
This fermented fennel recipe makes an appearance in an array of dishes at Sorella. It's delightfully crisp and tangy as any good ferment should be – keep tasting during the fermentation process and place in the fridge once it reaches the level of sourness that you like. The fermentation liquid from the fennel is used in thisfennel sausage ragù recipe, so don't throw away the liquid once you've eaten all the fennel. This recipe was developed by Dean alongside Robin Gill at Sorella, where Dean is head chef.
Ingredients
Fermented fennel
- 2kg fennel
- 8g of fennel seeds
- 3g of coriander seeds
- 1g of dried chilli
- 2 garlic cloves , finely sliced
- 200ml of white wine
- 2 slices of lemon peel , pith removed
- 2 bay leaves, cut into 4 pieces
- 2l filtered water
- salt
- pomace oil (1)
Equipment
- 3l Kilner jar
- Juicer
Method
1
To begin, weigh the 3 litre jar and note down the weight. Trim the tops off the fennel, remove the outer layers and pass the trimmings through a juicer – you should be left with 100–150ml liquid
- 2kg fennel
2
Toast the seeds and chilli in a hot dry pan and after 2 minutes, add a dash of pomace oil, reducing the heat to medium. Add the garlic, cook until golden then add the white wine. Bring to the boil, add the lemon zest and bay leaves then allow to cool
- 8g of fennel seeds
- 3g of coriander seeds
- 1g of dried chilli
- pomace oil (1)
- 2 garlic cloves , finely sliced
- 200ml of white wine
- 2 bay leaves, cut into 4 pieces
- 2 slices of lemon peel , pith removed
3
Add the fennel juice to the jar, along with the cooled wine mixture. Cut each fennel bulb into six wedges, place in the same jar and top up with the filtered water until completely submerged
- 2l filtered water
4
Weigh the jar again and subtract the original weight of the empty jar. Divide the number you get by 100 then multiply that by 3 to find out the amount of salt needed (3%). Add the salt, place the lid on the jar, shake well and pour in pomace oil to create a layer so no air can get in
5
Seal the jar and leave to ferment for 2 weeks to 1 month – the length of time needed will depend on the warmth and humidity of the room it is stored in
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Fermented fennel
