Stuffed Fennel Boats
I did not grow up eating hearts or fennel. However as my exploration of food and the need to use all of our harvest became an obsession hearts had to enter my diet and I love them! Weather it is a cow, elk or bird they are all good. Let your preconceived notions go and remember it is just a muscle that is very good to eat when handled properly.
If I am honest fennel allows scared me a little as all I was exposed to were the seeds and felt that the aniseed flavor would be too so strong. So when I cooked it for the first time I was so pleasantly surprised at how mild and gentle the flavor was. I hope you enjoy this recipe!!
Heath Benefits of Fennel
-Soothes Digestive Troubles
-Low Calorie source of Vitamin C, Dietary Fiber and Potassium
Stuffed Fennel Boats
2/3 cups of hearts (pheasant, chicken, chucker, duck or combo), diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 teaspoons of black pepper
Drizzle of avocado oil
2 fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Parmesan Cheese, shredded, to taste
1/2 cup of leeks, minced
1/2 cup of tomatoes, diced
Preheat oven to Broil-High. Combined the hearts, garlic, pepper and avocado oil. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
Trim the stalks of the fennel and set aside for garnish. Cut the bulb in half and then half again so you have 4 quarters. Scope or cut out some of the center of the bulb to create a “boat” for the stuffing, save the center of the bulbs for another recipe (they will keep for several days). Place in a casserole dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with Salt and pepper and sprinkle some red pepper flakes to your heat liking. Place under the broiler and cook for around 8 minutes until the bulbs are tender and a little chard. If the bulbs are getting to dark and not tender enough then cover with foil and turn the oven down to 375 until the bulbs are tender.
When the bulbs are done bring out of the oven and sprinkle a little of the Parmesan Cheese and cover with foil. Make sure the oven is on Boil and cook the filling.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and then add leeks and tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes until leeks are tender. Add the heart mixture and continually stir until hearts are just cooked then remove from heat. Take the heart mixture and divide into the fennel boats. Top with more Parmesan cheese and then return to the boiler just long enough to melt the cheese. Be careful not to over cook or the hearts or they will not be tender. Top with some of the fennel tops and serve immediately as a main dish or appetizer!
