Baked Apple and Fennel

• 4 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cored apples (zestar, paula reds or macoun work best)
• 4 thick onion rounds
• 1 fennel bulb, quartered

preparation

1. Mix the butter, fennel seeds, sugar, salt and pepper. Grease a baking dish with some of the mixture.
2. With the remaining mixture, rub the cored apples inside and out .
3. Place the onion rounds in the baking dish and top with the buttered apples. Add the fennel bulb to the dish.
4. Bake at 425 degrees F until the apples are soft – approximately 1 hour.