Jessica Flanigan with a Greek sauce that makes her forget her dreams of Hollandaise.
Text And Photo By Jessica Flanigan
Avgolemono sauce is a Greek Sauce with Mediterranean roots. It is made of eggs, broth and lemon juice. I think of it as a good stand in for hollandaise sauce. I might dream about hollandaise sauce on almost any appropriate food, but rarely do I muster the courage to make it for fear that I would consume a whole bowl of it in all its buttery glory. This sauce is just as special, minus the rich factor. Tarragon seemed like a natural edition to the lemon and egg, and paired with caramelized fennel and endive spears, the avgolemono sauce make it feel like a special occasion dish. I am drawn to avgolemono’s simplicity having only four ingredients, all of which I had in my kitchen. Of course this kind of sauce would work magic on asparagus or oven-roasted broccolini too. One tip: don’t boil the sauce or it will curdle the eggs.
PrintEndive and Fennel with Tarragon Avgolemono Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This dish features caramelized fennel and endive spears paired with a light and tangy tarragon avgolemono sauce, making it a special occasion dish with a Mediterranean flair.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced fennel (300g)
- 4 heads Belgian endive
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (15ml)
- Pinch of salt
- 2/3 cup chicken stock (158ml)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (79ml)
- 1 tablespoon chopped tarragon
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Trim the top and bottom off the fennel bulb. Slice lengthwise using a sharp paring knife and remove the core. Discard the core and slice the remaining fennel into long ½ inch strips.
- Trim ¼ inch off the bottom of each Belgian endive and separate the leaves.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel and a pinch of salt. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fennel is caramelized and tender.
- Add the endive leaves to the skillet and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until they are slightly wilted. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a separate saucepan, combine the chicken stock and lemon juice. Heat over medium-low heat until just warm, but do not bring to a boil.
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs until frothy. Slowly add the warm chicken stock mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously to prevent curdling.
- Return the egg mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Stir in the chopped tarragon and remove from heat.
- To serve, arrange the fennel and endive on a platter and drizzle with the tarragon avgolemono sauce. Serve immediately.
Notes
Do not boil the avgolemono sauce to prevent curdling. This sauce pairs well with asparagus or oven-roasted broccolini. The dish is best served immediately after preparation.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 250
- Fat: 10
- Carbohydrates: 10
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 6
- Cholesterol: 110
Jessica, Congrats on your post! Fennel has never been on my menu plan as I’m afraid the kids wouldn’t like it as much as my husband and I. Any suggestions on how to introduce these types of food to them?
Noel..fennel is a bit of a tough sell for kids. But, oven roasting it is easy and mellows the flavors. I would toss coarsely chopped fennel in a bit of olive oil and sea salt, and bake covered for 30 min then uncovered for 15 at 350 degrees and then after you take it out of the oven I would lightly toss it in a couple of tablespoons of powdered Parmesan cheese. Seems to be my go-to method for kids..oven roast then coast in parm! Good luck! :)
Sounds interesting and delicious!