Autumn recipe: Baked fennel on sweet potato puree with tahini sauce, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds

October 14, 2021

Autumn recipe: Baked fennel on sweet potato puree with tahini sauce, pomegranate and pumpkin seeds

by Lena Severin

We thought we'd give you a little inspiration for the fall with a slightly different blog post. With a vegan, clean recipe that tastes wonderfully of fall and definitely falls into the comfy food category. And this is what you need: 

For 4 people: 

  • 2-3 fennel bulbs (depending on the size)
  • 2-3 sweet potatoes (here too)
  • Tahini 
  • 1 pomegranate 
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Some vegan butter
  • Oat milk
  • Pumpkin seeds 
  • Zaatar (oriental spice mix, available from specialist shops or well-stocked organic food stores)
  • Pumpkin seed oil
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Nutmeg
  • Cayenne pepper 
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Agave syrup

And this is how it works:

  1. Wash the fennel, cut off the dried ends at the top and a piece of the stalk. Divide the bulb into quarters and cut another 2-3 boats, depending on how thick the fennel is. You don't need to remove the stalk as this helps the fennel to hold together. The individual "leaves" can then be easily separated from the stalk later when eating. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius. 
  2. Mix the marinade for the fennel in a small bowl: 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp agave syrup, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (not ready-made balsamic cream), a pinch of cayenne pepper (or a little more, depending on taste), 1-2 tbsp zaatar and salt.
  3. Spread the marinade evenly over the fennel wedges and spread them out on a baking tray. 
  4. Peel the sweet potatoes, cut them into small pieces and rinse them thoroughly. Cook the pieces until they are soft. 
  5. Place the fennel in the preheated oven for approx. 20 minutes. While the potatoes are boiling and the fennel is cooking, you can prepare the tahini sauce and pomegranate. 
  6. For the tahini sauce: Mix the juice of half a lemon, 2 tablespoons of tahini, salt, pepper, two teaspoons of agave syrup and stir until a homogeneous paste is formed. Then add a little water to liquefy the Texture . 
  7. To cut open the pomegranate, carve a hexagon into the top and remove the cap. You should then see a star-shaped pattern of white separating skins. Score the skin from top to bottom. Now you can slowly and evenly break open the individual pieces. To remove the seeds from the individual segments, immerse it in a bowl of water and separate the seeds. This prevents the red juice from splashing everywhere and the white separating skins float on the surface while the seeds sink to the bottom. 
  8. When the sweet potatoes are cooked, drain the water and puree them with a little vegan butter and oat milk to make a creamy puree. Season with a little nutmeg and salt. 
  9. Roast the pumpkin seeds briefly in a pan. 
  10. When the fennel is cooked, you can serve everything together. 
  11. Enjoy!

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