The end-of-the-week fridge clean-out at the test kitchen netted me a remarkable and varied bounty...
One of the great treasures was an embarrassment of fennel bulbs. I love cooked fennel, but I'm not wild about the overly licorice-type taste of the raw. Generally, I prepare braised fennel as a side dish. Could I turn it into a Centerpiece Main Course in order to use up all of the bulbs?
With no destination in mind, I sautéed a minced onion in butter, then added some minced garlic, and then the trimmed and sliced fennel. After a few minutes, I added 1C chicken stock.
Then I looked at some of the other things I'd brought home from the test kitchen: I had some cherry tomatoes, and some tarragon. OK, tarragon is a natural with fennel... and tomatoes are a natural with anything Mediterranean...
So... what else might work in that world? Capers... check. Olives... check.
But what would be the unifier???
Sausage... maybe? Shrimp... always good. Chicken... YES!
I had a few pieces of chicken breast that I'd cut and saved while making schnitzel. Easily enough left for two people! So I cubed the chicken and added it, too... Making sure the flame was on low... I HATE overcooked chicken.
When the chicken was just cooked, I tasted for salt and pepper and added the tomatoes, capers, olives, and tarragon to the pot...
I served this over bowls of soft, creamy, slow-simmered white polenta made with milk. Check out http://www.thisoldchef.com/blog.html/soft_polenta/.
The fennel was soft but not mushy, and had a haunting depth without tasting like licorice candy. The tomatoes were still all but raw, and burst when we bit into them. The capers and olives added totally different but complementary salty and briny notes. The chicken was meltingly tender, and had taken on all of the richly comforting surrounding flavors. The soft, sweet white polenta was the perfect canvas...
I topped it with a shower of Parmigiano and just a bit more tarragon...
All in all, an amazing meal that came about because I had ingredients that needed to be used, and took the time to think a little about what went with what. 'Cause that's the fun part!
PS. Here it is a couple of nights later... with the addition of peas, haricots verts, tons of black pepper, and a bed of rice! Even better the second time around...
