This roasted fennel with mascarpone and date syrup is an easy but equally impressive and delicious side or tapas style dish, and perfectly balanced in flavor.
Fennel is something I remember easting often growing up, served raw in slices after dinner. It was always a crispy and refreshing bite to cleanse the palette after a savory dinner (although I didn’t think of it that way back then, I just liked its crunch and slight licorice flavor). People do this in many parts of the world, as fennel has been proven to aid in digestion. But while raw fennel is distinct and delicious in its own way, roasted fennel takes on a whole different but equally delicious flavor profile. It becomes tender and almost buttery, deeply savory with a hint of sweetness and a much more mellow licorice flavor (for those who don’t like licorice). When paired with creamy mascarpone, sweet date syrup and nutty pistachios, as it is here, it’s maybe one of my favorite foods in the world.
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