IN SEASON... fennel
Fennel is a taste of home for Ireland-based chef Jess Murphy and Mum’s cheese scones keep the memories alive.
IF THERE IS ONE thing I love about going home to Wairoa it is all the flowering fennel growing wild on the sandy leftover silt and in between the cracks in the concrete. I can’t get enough of its little yellow flowers and the abundance of fennel pollen that we use in the restaurant to sprinkle over fresh cheese or amazing ricotta ice cream with runny honey. But nothing hits me in the heart like Mum’s cheese scones. Kiwis and cheese scones go hand in hand and have legendary status – they should have cult status like the pavlova, the Beehive and Tip Top ice cream, in my humble opinion. After leaving New Zealand in ’99, it’s the nostalgia that keeps me going and keeps me baking.
CHEESE & FENNEL SEED SCONES
MAKES 16 LITTLE SCONES / PREPARATION 20 MINUTES / COOKING 25 MINUTES
I adore these served with any soup, but especially roasted tomato or a creamy leek and potato.
3 cups self-raising flour
50g chilled butter, chopped
¾ cup grated Hōhepa Danbo
or tasty cheddar cheese 1½ tablespoons fresh chives, chopped 1½ teaspoons fennel seeds
1½ cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard milk for brushing
Heat the oven to 185℃. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Using your hands, rub the butter into the flour until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Combine with the cheese, chives and 1 teaspoon of the fennel seeds.
In a separate bowl combine the buttermilk and mustard. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir using a flatbladed knife until a soft dough forms. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth. Pat the dough out to a 2cm-thick round. Dip a 5cm round cutter into some flour and cut out the scones, re-rolling the leftover dough and continuing until you have 16 scones. Brush the tops with milk and scatter with the rest of the fennel seeds. Bake for 25 minutes or until the scones are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
1
Fennel risotto with roast lemonthyme chicken I adore risotto, mainly because I make too much and use the leftovers to make arancini. Of course this roast chicken is also perfect for lettuce cups to tart up that lunch box! So, start by seasoning 4 chicken legs with salt and white pepper, chopped thyme, smashed garlic cloves, 1 dried chilli and the zest of 2 lemons. Roast at 185℃ for 45 minutes or until the chicken is falling from the bone. Heat some stock (make it lovely and warm as you’re adding it to your rice – if you use cold stock your rice will panic!) and while that heats up, grate a block of parmesan or good sheep’s cheese. In a heavy pan put some butter, chopped fennel and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes then add risotto rice and cook, always stirring – the golden rule being never walk away from a risotto. Add white wine and cook until it’s absorbed. Add the stock ladle by ladle. Once the rice is cooked add parmesan to finish, and plate up with a lovely roast chicken leg.
2
Butter-braised Madras fennel, burrata, pinenuts & winter orange
If you want to wow ya mates this is the one! It’s like a salad but a delicious buttery salad – it’s always on our winter menu and is everyone’s favourite. Pop 2 fennel wedges in an oven dish with some melted butter and 30g Madras paste. Add 20ml honey and bake for 30 minutes or until tender. Peel and slice 4 oranges into wagon wheels. Toast 120g pinenuts. Once the fennel is cooked, put into a serving dish and dot with oranges and burrata. Dress with the buttery dressing left over in your oven dish, add your toasty pinenuts and bits of fresh thyme. If you have the tender fennel tops add them also for a garnish. You can save the rest of the pan juices and use them to roast carrots.
3
Fennel tart with goat’s cheese & macadamias This is super easy and uses fennel braised in butter as above. Heat the oven to 185℃. Put a sheet of store-bought puff pastry on a baking sheet and spread with 2 bulbs chopped fennel, 200g goat’s cheese, 40g macadamias, thyme, chilli and honey and bake for 20 minutes. Take from the oven and crack 4 eggs on top, one on every corner, and bake for another 15 minutes. Best served with a peppery watercress salad.
4
Fennel inzimino with honeyed pork chops Pour 50ml olive oil into a pot and cook 1 diced onion, a can of chickpeas, a diced bulb of fennel, 2 diced tomatoes, and 2 smashed garlic cloves. Add 100ml chicken stock and 5 stalks large silverbeet and reduce to a consistency similar to ratatouille. Pour some hot honey over pork chops and bake in the oven at 185℃ for 35 minutes. Serve hot honeyed pork chops over the inzimino.
Wairoa-born Jess Murphy is chefowner of Michelin-awarded restaurant Kai in Galway, Ireland. She was named Global Ambassador for 2024 at the Women in Food & Drink Aotearoa New Zealand Awards. Thanks to Allan Fong at The Fresh Grower for the fennel.