I used to hate fennel. Sure, all the kids in school were eating it, but I heard that if you tried it once you could never go back. Oh no, you’d just start craving more and more, and while the first time would be for free, eventually it would end up costing you a whole lot more. You’d stop wearing clean clothes, drop out of school and finally live on the streets, begging people for change just so you could buy another bulb. And I refused to go that way. But then even my morther joined in it! “Just try it,” she said, “you’ll love it!”. Yes, dear readers, my own mother tried to get me hooked on fennel. I tried to hold off a while longer, but eventually I caved from all the peer-pressure. And I have never looked back. Would it be shameful to admit that I’ve eaten fennel three times this week? I’m even planning to have some more tonight… I need help!

Kids, just say no! But if you’re already hooked as I am, there’s probably not much harm in trying the recipe below. Just make sure you get the good quality stuff, not the stuff that has been diluted with celery or something like it.  Trust me, you’ll notice the difference.

Fennel risotto with porcini & goat’s cheese

(Serves about 3-4 people)

First up, you’ll need to prepare the stock for the risotto. I use my trusted porcini stock cubes from Star:

but vegetable stock will work just as well. Make sure to use high quality stock cubes though, not the ones that seem to have been made only from salt.  A liter of stock should be ample. I soaked about 25 grams of dried porcini (also known as cèpes in France, and eekhoorntjesbrood in the Netherlands, which literally means “squirrels’ bread”. Oh yeah, the Dutch have some hilarious names for some of their foods…) in the boiling water, together with the stock cubes (I used two for a litre).

You’ll also need:

- 300 grams of risotto rice, preferably arborio

- 2 large bulbs of fennel, about 500-600 grams in all, chopped in small bits.

- 1 onion, finely chopped

- 100 grams of crumbled soft goat’s cheese

- some olive oil

- pepper to taste (I didn’t add any salt because the stock cubes were salty enough, but you can always choose to add more)

Now, first you heat up the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fennel and fry them on a low heat for about 2-3 minutes. Now add the risotto rice and fry for 1 minute longer. Now comes the fun part: add a little bit of stock (about half a cup) to the pan. It will be soaked up by the rice. The point is to keep adding more stock as soon it has evaporated, stirring the risotto every once in a while. Keep the heat low, otherwice the rice will cook to quickly and taste like glue.  Risotto takes a while to prepare, but it’s well worth the effort and you can drink lots of wine while you’re in the kitchen! It’s a win-win situation. Anyway, after about 15-20 minutes the rice should be about cooked, and you should be through your stock/porcini. Just taste the rice to see if it’s done. It should have a slight bite, same as with properly cooked pasta.  If it’s nood done yet, just add some more stock and keep cooking. If you’re through your stock and it’s still not done, just add some more boiling water.

(don’t mind the dirty stove)

When you’re satisfied with the way the risotto tastes, add the goat’s cheese and mix it well with the risotto.  Add some pepper, and you’re done! I served my risotto with some lamb sausages, and it tasted quite excellent. Risotto is notoriously difficult to take pretty pictures of, so you’ll have to be content with this:

Gah, I’m starting to drool again. Guess I’m well and truly hooked!