Labneh with fennel and orange

Cut three, preferably small, fennel into four wedges. Using a peeling knife, remove the peel from two oranges. Squeeze these and four more oranges. Place the fennel close together in a low rimmed saucepan. Pour over with the orange juice and add the zest. Use additional spices such as lemongrass, cloves, black pepper, cardamon or saffron if you want.

Put under the lid and press. It doesn’t matter if not everything is in the juice or the jar is a little too small. Once the fennel begins to cook it will shrink in the juice. Cook, about half an hour, under cover until the fennel is fully cooked. Now remove the fennel from the orange juice. Boil the juice down to syrup thickness. You will see larger and larger bubbles appear.

Meanwhile, sauté the fennel briefly in a pan with olive oil. Or use your grill. This goes quickly because the sweetness of the fennel and juice caramelizes quickly.

Scoop a jar of labneh onto a nice large plate. Serve the lukewarm, cooked and fried, fennel on top. Put some of the reduced sauce on top and olive oil. Top with some leftover fennel leaves. Serve as a side dish.

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