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| kumquats and honey |
This is a great recipe to introduce yourself to the pleasures of both cooked kumquats (which, incidentally will fill your kitchen with the other-worldly aroma of simmering kumquats) and sauteed, freshly harvested young fennel leaf. Combined, they make a lovely stir fry with a little wilted spinach over a nice basmati rice.
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| Young leafy fennel and butter |
To do: I cut a handful of kumquats longwise, and flicked out the seeds. Toss kumquats in the smallest pan you have, add water and a quarter cup of honey. If you have honey on the shelf that has crystalized, here’s a good use for it. I cook down the kumquats until the liquid has thickened somewhat. Leave the pan uncovered, and as the liquid reduces; you’ll enjoy a little “aroma therapy”:)
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| Finished Product |
I sliced the tender stems and leafy green of the fennel and sauteed with a bit of butter until the fennel leaf is tender, and then set aside. This doesn’t take long, the fennel today is VERY young and tender.
I steamed my Basmati in a rice cooker, and then let sit until needed. Add a handful of your baby spinach if you like to your fennel, turn heat back on if you choose to add spinach, and saute until the spinach is wilted, no more than a minute. Finally, wisk the three pans together; kumquats, fennel and rice add salt to taste; serve immediately or chill and serve as a rice salad.