Seasonal Food & Wine Pairings: Creamy Fennel Bake
Despite the chilly atmosphere and wild winds, winter also brings us some wonderful seasonal produce from our Estate garden, including cabbage, cauliflower, broccolini and, the star of this season’s recipe, fennel!
To celebrate the delicious Millbrook 2021 Estate Viognier wine and to fully embrace everything that is good about the winter season, we are bringing you the fourth chapter in our seasonal food and wine pairing series – a creamy fennel bake matched with the 2021 Estate Viognier.
Our fennel is grown on the Estate’s one-acre garden, just a stone’s throw away from the vineyard where our Estate Viognier fruit is grown. It’s only natural to pair the two!
The 2021 Estate Viognier is a beautifully aromatic and full-bodied wine. Its delicate floral aromas, textural palate and soft yet lively acidity pairs perfectly with the creamy, buttery and subtle flavours of this dish.
Did you know that this recipe also instructs you to deglaze the fennel, garlic and onion with a dash of the Estate Viognier? The alcohol in the wine actually aids in releasing flavour molecules, enhancing the flavours and aromas in your dish. Of course you’re welcome to continue enjoying these incredible flavours with a glass of Viognier on the side too!
Check out Millbrook Executive Chef Guy Jeffreys’ recipe for this divine creamy fennel bake below:
Fennel is a perennial herb, native to the Mediterranean region and is an extremely versatile plant in the kitchen – its seeds, stems, leaves, bulbs and flowers are all able to be used as a vegetable or garnish.
Fennel has also had a wide range of uses in history; from Ancient Greeks and Romans using it for medicine and insect repellent, to Chinese using it to treat snake bites, or Europeans using it to keep out evil spirits during medieval times, it seems fennel has always had its uses.
Thinking about starting a vegetable garden? Not only will you get the satisfaction of growing your own produce, home grown vegetables are also fresher, more nutritious and delicious than store bought produce. If you want to plant some fennel, Millbrook Executive Chef Guy Jeffreys has some recommendations: “If you have a vegetable garden, plant your fennel seeds directly into the ground in February and harvest in July.”
Maybe you would prefer to leave the cooking to us? A visit to our restaurant is never the same, with our seasonal Estate garden dictating new dishes on the menu every day. With fennel currently on the menu, treat yourself to a delectable fennel and orange salad with flat iron steak entrée. Book a table here.