Caramelized Fennel and Onions

I love liver with onions. How do you cook the onions?

What kind of pan do you use to cook this? I originally thought of a cast-iron skillet, but since you specify “pan”, I’m unsure. It sounds wonderful and very simple to make – my favorite kind of recipe. Thanks!

Hello Amanda, I used a large, hard anodized aluminum pan to cook this, which is naturally stick-free, but you could easily use a large cast iron skillet. ~Elise

I made this but did a vegan version as I can not eat dairy and it was absolutely fantastic. I just used Earth Balance in place of the butter and about a tablespoon of nutritional yeast in place of the cheese. The longer it cooks the more sweet it becomes. It was so good that I ate it all by itself but next time will make more and use it on pizza or with a veggie burger. Excellent and simple to make.

Made this last night as a side for fresh, wild caught Copper River Salmon filet. It was a winner! I gave it the full hour plus a little more as we waited for the green beans. There was a tiny bit left over that will become crostini tonight!

Fennel and onion… what a delicious combination, full of flavor and so versatile. I am inspired to have this veggies with Peruvian asado for dinner. I am sure it will be amazing. Will let you know…

I had a delicious caramelized fennel soup at the De Young Museum Cafe in SF last year, that I’ve been meaning to duplicate. I’ve bought fennel at least 2 or 3 times since then, intending to make the soup, but got lazy and ended up just using it in salads or tossing the (by then) slimy fennel.

I hope this recipe has inspired me once again to make the soup. I would have used lots of caramelized onions as well. I think this recipe above can easily be used as the base of a soup. Try it!

What a great idea, thanks! ~Elise

I do this all the time. It’s heavenly mixed with a little bit of cream or butter and fettuccine, served with seared scallops.

Funny! I just made a caramelized fennel and onion (shallot) pizza last night. I simply caramelized in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper and fresh thyme. So amazingly tasty. I love fennel :)

Put that on your pizza…..

You caught me! For a while, I braised fennel in quarters, just as another of your recipes outlines. Then, I got lazy and starting slicing the fennel (like an onion) and proceeding with what I’d call more ‘stir fry’ than ‘braise.’ I still use salt and sugar, but the loose strips cook faster than braising the fennel in quarters. Faster cooking means faster for me to eat it right out of the pan!

Looks so delicious… I am a huge onion fan, most definitely. My farmer’s market hasn’t had any fennel yet though. I agree with the comment above that it would be a great burger topping.

i *adore* fennel, and i *adore* caramelized onions (or caramelized anything for that matter). this might be a little unorthodox, but i’m thinking this would be great as a burger topping at our memorial day bbq…

I LOVE fennel- raw or cooked- but my husband hates it. Every few months I try making it a different way but it doesn’t seem to help – it’s the anise flavor that gets him. Sigh. It’s the same way with mint, and with the summer upon us I dream about fresh mint in drinks, salads and dessert.

Hi Elisha, my father hates fennel too. But when I served him some of this, he went back for seconds. He loved it. ~Elise

Looks great. I have friends who make a great caramelized onion quiche out of Julia Child’s cookbook. Would this combination of fennel and onion work in a quiche?

It would work great in a quiche! ~Elise