Fennel, for red wine

Here's a dish aimed at pushing florence fennel to red wine territory.

Halves, quarters, eighths, cut a fennel bulb, keeping some of the stem & core attached with each wedge. Marinate the cut fennel in salt, sugar, a little extra virgin olive oil and the juice of half a blood orange. Get a bbq grill hot and flash the fennel wedges for quick and deep colour. Back the bbq heat back to very low and slowly cook out the fennel.

As each piece (some will break up) cooks soft enough, drop back into the bowl of marinade and toss around to steam and soak. When all the fennel is cooked and in with the marinade, top the mix up with a very little bit of raw garlic, the juice of the other orange half and its zest, a touch more olive oil and some flat-leaf parsley torn up by hand. Toss it around and check the seasoning - you may need a splash of red wine vinegar to sharpen up the sauce, which should have taken on a beautiful caramel colour from the bbq.

Serve this cool. I had a slice of terrine (guinea fowl & orange), some sourdough bread and butter, a big spoonful of the fennel with some leftovers of pinot noir (2005 Williams Crossing) and 2008 Barwang Hilltops cabernet sauvignon. Both matched well with the game terrine and the fennel, including against the sweet/sharp orange & caramel of the sauce. A richer sangiovese or grenache would also have matched well.