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1
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 pan with nonstick spray or coat it with butter and set aside.
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2
Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the quartered, cored fennel and cook, uncovered, for about 8 minutes, until it is tender.
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3
While fennel is cooking, melt butter in a medium bowl and set aside. Peel the Roma tomatoes, cutting in half lengthwise. Seed them. Set aside.
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4
Drain fennel well. Toss in a medium bowl with the melted butter, or if it's room temperature, toss until the butter has melted.
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5
Place the fennel in the casserole dish, cut sides up to help it cook evenly; season with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
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6
Place the tomatoes around the fennel and season lightly with Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
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7
Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, until the tomatoes have softened.
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8
Remove from oven. Turn on the broiler. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese evenly on top of the fennel and tomatoes. Place in the broiler for a few minutes or until the cheese has browned.
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9
Handling fennel tip:
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10
For a clean trim, cut off any feathery stalks diagonally so that a V shape forms at the point where they meet the top of the bulb (as opposed to cutting them straight across).
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11
To prepare the bulb, cut a thin slice from the bottom end and discard. Pull away the tough outer layers, on the left and right. Make two cuts on the bottom, forming a wide and shallow V, to discard the core.
