FENNEL WITH BUTTER & PARMESAN - FINOCCHI ALLA MILANESE

This slow-cooked fennel recipe is one of the best I've ever eaten. It's a recipe from northern Italy, and as the author says, 'the original cooking fat from Lombardy is butter, not olive oil. This is due to the abundance of cows due to the richness of the pastures of the Lombard plain and the absence of olive trees due to the cold winters. Most of the vegetables used to be finished like in this recipe, with butter and cheese.' Today I served it to accompany other recipes from the same cook, a chicken cooked with truffle cream, potatoes with garlic and parsley and mushrooms also sautéed with garlic, parsley and sherry. A very good dinner, although the amount of butter it uses, even if it's finger-licking, is not ideal if you're on a diet and want to lose weight 😁😋!

Ingredients

4 fennel bulbs
50g unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt

Method
1. Remove any bruised and brown parts of the fennel and cut off and discard the tops. Cut the bulbs into quarters, wash them and then cut them into segments. 

2. Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan and add the fennel segments. Cook, turning them over, for 5 minutes. Pour in enough hot water to cover the bottom of the pan. Season with a little salt. Cover the pan with a lid and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes, turning the fennel from time to time.

3. Uncover the pan and continue to cook until the fennel is tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Add the Parmesan, mix thoroughly and serve.

Serves 4