Skillet Potatoes and Fennel
This homemade Skillet Potatoes and Fennel recipe is a quick and easy veggie side dish that you’re going to love. Parboiled for creaminess and seared in cast iron for extra crispiness and flavor, these veg are ultimately topped with a bright and herby chermoula sauce. The result is a dish that tastes super hearty and fresh and anything but boring.
Why You’ll Love This Skillet Potatoes and Fennel Recipe
- Quick and easy. This recipe is easy to make and comes together quickly. Parboiling the potatoes and fennel before browning them in the skillet makes them toast up even faster.
- Hearty and satisfying. Potatoes and fennel are decent sources of fiber, making you feel fuller for longer. They are also rich in other nutrients too.
- Packed with different flavors and textures. We love the balance between the creamy potatoes, crunchy fennel, and soft red onions. The bright herby notes of the chermoula round out the earthy tastes of the vegetables.
- Veggie forward. There is so much flavor in these plant-based skillet potatoes and fennel that even the biggest carnivores will be satisfied.
What is Fennel?
Fennel is a delicious and totally underrated vegetable. It has a mild anise flavor and is both a little savory and slightly sweet. You can eat it raw or enjoy it cooked. Most recipes instruct you to use the bulb of the fennel plant, but you can also eat the bright green, wispy fronds (these fronds make for excellent garnishes too).
What is Chermoula?
Chermoula is a bright sauce made with lemons (often preserved), fresh herbs, spices, and olive oil. Our version uses fresh lemon zest and juice instead of preserved lemons for ease. Many versions are blended in a food processor, but we like to keep ours simple by just mixing together minced herbs with spices and olive oil.
Ingredients in This Skillet Potatoes and Fennel Recipe
Skillet Veggies
- Creamer potatoes – we like the small size, thin skin, and creamy texture of creamer potatoes. If you can’t find these, you can use Yukon gold and cut them into 1 to 2 inch size pieces.
- Fennel – you’ll need a couple of fennel bulbs for this recipe. While the recipe doesn’t call for the fronds, feel free to garnish the dish with them.
- Red onion – we love how sweet these get when roasted in the skillet.
- Olive oil – you’ll need some olive oil in which to cook the veggies after they’re parboiled.
- Salt – potatoes need a lot of salt, so try not to be too stingy with the seasoning.
Chermoula
- Herbs – this recipe calls for fresh cilantro and parsley.
- Lemon – you’ll need lemon zest and juice for the chermoula.
- Spices – garlic powder, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper make up the spice profile of the chermoula. These spices are good pantry staples too and are great to keep around for other recipes.
- Olive oil – use good tasting, quality olive oil here because it acts as the backbone of this sauce.
How to Make This Skillet Potatoes and Fennel Recipe
Place the potatoes in a pot with salted water. Bring the water to a boil, then add the fennel and cook for about 7 minutes.
Drain the water and shake off any excess. Add the parboiled potatoes and fennel and half of a red onion to a heated cast iron pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the veggies are roasted and browned in color.
Make the chermoula by mixing together the herbs, spices, lemon, and olive oil. Drizzle the chermoula over the cooked vegetables.
Skillet Potatoes and Fennel Recipe
Ingredients
Skillet Veggies
- 8-10 creamer potatoes, halved (about 12-14 oz)
- 2 fennel bulbs, cut into wedges
- ½ red onion, cut into wedges
- 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt, to taste
Chermoula
- ½ cup parsley, minced
- ½ cup cilantro, minced
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 lemon, about 2 tbsp
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a pot with salted water. Bring the water to a boil, then add the fennel and cook for about 7 minutes.8-10 creamer potatoes, 2 fennel bulbs
- Drain the water and shake off any excess. Add the parboiled potatoes and fennel and half of a red onion to a heated cast iron pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until the veggies are roasted and browned in color.8-10 creamer potatoes, 2 fennel bulbs, ½ red onion, 2 to 3 tbsp olive oil, Salt
- Make the chermoula by mixing together the herbs, spices, lemon, and olive oil. Drizzle the chermoula over the cooked vegetables.½ cup parsley, ½ cup cilantro, Zest of 1 lemon, Juice of 1 lemon, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes, ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp black pepper
