This is a great meat-free main dish with a salad, or serve it with roast pork or lamb
Ingredients
For the fennel
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 4 heads of fennel, trimmed (fronds kept) and cut into thin wedges
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 400g can chopped tomato
For the topping
- 85g white bread
- 50g parmesan, grated
- handful fennel fronds
- zest 1 lemon
- handful black olive, pitted
Method
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Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a saucepan, then add the fennel, cover and stew over a low heat for 15 mins. Add the garlic and continue to cook for 10-20 mins until the fennel is soft (the timing depends on how thick the fennel is). Add the tomatoes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins until the fennel is coated in a thick tomato sauce. Tip everything into a shallow gratin dish. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
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While the fennel is cooking, tip all the topping ingredients except the olives into a food processor and blitz to crumbs. Add the olives and pulse until chopped, but not blended. Scatter the crumbs generously over the fennel, drizzle with the rest of the oil, then bake for 20 mins until golden.