Name: Roasted Fennel with Orange-Honey Dressing
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 2 fennel bulbs , bases lightly trimmed, 2 tablespoons fronds chopped coarse, stalks discarded; 2 tablespoons water; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil; 2 teaspoons honey; 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar; 1/8 teaspoon grated orange zest plus 1 tablespoon juice; Pinch kosher salt

Why This Recipe Works

For our roasted fennel, we began by cutting the bulbs into wedges, which had two benefits: It provided good surface area for browning, and the attached core kept the pieces intact. Covering the pieces with foil for most of the cooking time allowed them to steam and turn creamy; we then removed the foil for the last 10 minutes of roasting so that they could turn golden and deliciously caramelized. We also tossed the wedges with salted water before covering them, which provided moisture for steaming and helped get seasoning between their layers. Arranging the pieces on the long sides of a rimmed baking sheet ensured that all the pieces got equal exposure to the heat and browned evenly. A tart dressing made with orange juice and honey was the perfect complement to the sweet fennel.

Before You Begin

Look for fennel bulbs that measure 3½ to 4 inches in diameter and weigh around 1 pound with the stalks (12 to 14 ounces without); trim the bases very lightly so that the bulbs remain intact.

Instructions

for the fennel

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Spray rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray.

Cut each fennel bulb lengthwise through core into 8 wedges (do not remove core). Whisk water and salt in large bowl until salt is dissolved. Add fennel wedges to bowl and toss gently to coat. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with pepper, and toss gently to coat. Arrange fennel wedges cut side down along 2 longer sides of prepared sheet. Drizzle any water in bowl evenly over fennel wedges. Cover sheet tightly with aluminum foil and roast for 20 minutes.

for the dressing

While fennel roasts, whisk all ingredients together in small bowl.

Remove foil from sheet and continue to roast until side of fennel touching sheet is browned, 5 to 8 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through roasting. Flip each fennel wedge to second cut side. Continue to roast until second side is browned, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer fennel to large plate. Whisk dressing to recombine. Drizzle dressing over fennel, sprinkle with fennel fronds, and serve.