Star Anise & Orange-Braised Fennel

A head chef once told me that a good flavour pairing should reveal a little more about the main ingredient. This advice was ringing in my head when I developed this book. For me, star anise tells you so much about what it shares with fennel: aniseed spice, liquorice sweetness, herbal crispness. This feels so luxurious and indulgent. It absolutely needs to be served with rice to soak up the sauce, and a fresh salad to cut through the richness.

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Instructions

1.	Preheat the oven to 200°C fan.
2.	Trim the fennel tops off and set them aside for later, then cut the fennel bulbs in half vertically, removing the tough outer leaves.
3.	Put the oil in a wide frying pan and set over a medium-high heat.
4.	Once hot, add the fennel, cut sides down, and fry until golden on this side only. This will take 4-5 minutes, and you may need to do it in 2 batches, depending on the size of your pan. (Add another glug of oil for the second batch if it’s looking a bit dry.)
5.	Once bronzed, place in a braising dish, again cut sides down, trying to ensure the fennel is in one layer, but don’t worry if not!
6.	Put all the ingredients for the braising stock in a saucepan and bring to the boil.
7.	Whisk the stock then pour it over the fennel and transfer, uncovered, to the oven.
8.	Roast the fennel for 30-35 minutes until you can easily pass a knife through it but it still holds its shape.
9.	Set the fennel aside, transfer the braising liquid to a saucepan and set over a high heat.
10.	Reduce for 8-9 minutes until it looks like a glossy, loose caramel.
11.	Return the fennel to the pan to gently heat through and glaze in the caramel.
12.	Take the reserved fennel fronds and slice as finely as possible.
13.	Put these in a bowl with the lime juice, tarragon and salt, and toss to combine.
14.	To serve, transfer the fennel to a platter, pour over the caramel and scatter with the dressed fennel fronds.