A Bowl Of Braised Fennel

I'm not the world's biggest fennel fan. Its raw taste and smell lies in the land of anise, which is one of the very few things that I absolutely cannot stomach (no black licorice, ouzo, or Absinthe for me!). But I'll usually pick up one bulb a season to make a blood orange and fennel salad, which I enjoy in small doses.

I made this year's salad, and have had the remainder of a bulb hanging out in the fridge for a while, just waiting for me to break down and do something with it. I finally decided to cook it, which seems to remove that bit of anise that potently (for me) resides in the raw version. I experimented and ended up braising it, and the resulting dish was pretty darn tasty.

Braised Fennel
• 3/4 bulb fennel (use more, but that's all I had)
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 1/3 cup stock
• sea salt to taste

Slice the fennel into long, 1/4-inch strips. Melt the butter in a sauté pan, add the fennel and a little salt, and cook until it begins to brown. Add the stock, cover, and cook on low heat for about 5 minutes (checking and stirring occasionally), until it's tender and most of the liquid is gone.