Baked fennel / Gratin de fenouil

Before going in the oven

This quick and easy oven baked fennel dish is perfect for keeping warm on the not too far off cold winter nights. The delicate, slightly sweet taste of the baked fennel goes very well with the salty melted cheese, and while I am not a huge fan of raw fennel as it has quite a strong liquorice taste, I find that once cooked it is simply greedylicious! 

All you need to do is cook the fennel bulbs until soft, cut into slices, layer them in an ovenproof dish, cover with melted cheese and grill until the cheese is bubbling. I used a pressure cooker as this methods allows you to keep the maximum of nutrients in the fennel and also saves time but if you don't have a pressure cooker you can steam or boil the bulbs.

Any grated cheese will do: I used Emmenthal as that was what we had left-over in the fridge but parmesan, cheddar, crumbled stilton or even some smoked mozzarella would do the job nicely. 

Try with marinated pork chops, steamed fish or a roast chicken leg for a speedy and delicious winter supper.

Ready to eat

Winter soup / Soupe d'hiver

After catching a mini-winter cold last week, I have to admit that I didn't feel much like spending time in the kitchen. A big thank you to Cheri for making this delicious winter vegetable soup to warm me up and make me feel better. 

A simple and healthy recipe bursting with vitamins and based on good quality, seasonal vegetables: carrots, swede, potatoes and leeks. 

All that was left for me to do was grill and cut up some strips of streaky bacon and sprinkle over some grated Gruyere cheese to serve with this heartwarming winter soup. 

Merci mon coeur !