Wild Fennel ("finocchietti selvatici")

[JosephB]

I recently acquired a shopping bag full of fresh wild fennel, hand picked near Salaparuta. The wild fennel is the key to the magnificent dish from Palermo called "Pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines). There is no substitute for the fennel. (BTW, the other ingredients are fresh sardines, currants, pignoli, saffron, onion, anchovies, tomatoe paste, and olive oil).

How do I store the fennel? I was thinking of blanching and freezing it, with the blanching liquid. The blanching liquid is used to loosen the sauce. Of course, it would be easier to freeze it fresh. Can I do that without damaging the fennel?

Thanks!

Edited November 8, 2003 by JosephB (log)

[Suzanne F]

My guess is that if you freeze it without blanching it first, it will react like celery -- go all limp, and weep when thawed. Not great to work with, and it'll lose flavor. I would cut it, blanch it, and freeze it in recipe-size portions (yes, with the blanching liquid). Either way, you'll lose the crisp texture because home freezers just can't do the zero-degree blast that processors have.

[JosephB]

My guess is that if you freeze it without blanching it first, it will react like celery -- go all limp, and weep when thawed. Not great to work with, and it'll lose flavor. I would cut it, blanch it, and freeze it in recipe-size portions (yes, with the blanching liquid). Either way, you'll lose the crisp texture because home freezers just can't do the zero-degree blast that processors have.

Thanks Suzanne,

Actually, while retaining flavor is important, crispness is not an issue. Indeed, wild fennel is a bulbless weed. It is more akin to dill than to cultivated fennel bulbs.

P.S.

I enjoyed having lunch with you and alacarte yesterday.

[slkinsey]

The wild fennel is the key to the magnificent dish from Palermo called "Pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines).

Excuse me while I drool. This is one of the best dishes ever.

[JosephB]

The wild fennel is the key to the magnificent dish from Palermo called "Pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines).

Excuse me while I drool. This is one of the best dishes ever.

I got ya covered Sam.

[balex]

The wild fennel is the key to the magnificent dish from Palermo called "Pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines).

Excuse me while I drool. This is one of the best dishes ever.

I got ya covered Sam.

"Discordant but exhilarating" is Elizabeth David's description -- which is spot on.

There are some other things you can do with finochietti - stuff a pork shoulder with it (S & P & garlic as well) and get a very nice porchetta.

[slkinsey]

The wild fennel is the key to the magnificent dish from Palermo called "Pasta con le sarde" (pasta with sardines).

Excuse me while I drool. This is one of the best dishes ever.

I got ya covered Sam.

Woo-hoo!

[fifi]

I am curious as to where you laid your hands on this treasure. Did you hand pick it? Does anyone know the range of where it grows in the US?

[slkinsey]

I am curious as to where you laid your hands on this treasure. Did you hand pick it? Does anyone know the range of where it grows in the US?

According to Joe they were picked in Salaparuta. Salaparuta is in Sicilia, South of Palermo near Partanna. Since he was recently in Sicilia, I figure he got them there.

[fifi]

Damn.

edit to add: I just googled this and apparently it is a nasty weed in California. You can order seeds but you can't ship them into California.

Edited November 8, 2003 by fifi (log)

[JosephB]

I am curious as to where you laid your hands on this treasure. Did you hand pick it? Does anyone know the range of where it grows in the US?

According to Joe they were picked in Salaparuta. Salaparuta is in Sicilia, South of Palermo near Partanna. Since he was recently in Sicilia, I figure he got them there.

You don't really expect me to admit that I picked and smuggled wild weed into the U.S.

[fifi]

Hmmmm... the USDA beagles were on vacation?

BTW... I love those little guys. They are amazing. It is so funny to see the look on someone's face when they do their "sit" routine and the perp knows they have been busted.

But then, I am a dog freak.

[Pan]

Damn.

edit to add: I just googled this and apparently it is a nasty weed in California. You can order seeds but you can't ship them into California.

Don't have to, though. Wild fennel grows in great profusion throughout the Bay Area. Ironically, unless something's changed in the last few years, few people seem to be using it. Sort of like dandelions being expensive when it's growing as a weed everywhere.

Edited November 9, 2003 by Pan (log)

[fifi]

I may have to cook up a business trip there to get some.

My sister is the family forager. She would freak if she could get wild fennel. We are always watching the ditches and roadsides for delectible goodies. I think I have said before that when confronted with some of her salads of chickweed, dandeloin, etc., my kids have said... "I wonder what is in here that the cat has peed on.

[JosephB]

Wild fennel grows in great profusion throughout the Bay Area. Ironically, unless something's changed in the last few years, few people seem to be using it. Sort of like dandelions being expensive when it's growing as a weed everywhere.

Pan,

If you have occasion to get your hands on some wild fennel from California, pleeeeeeeeeeease let me know. I once contacted Chez Panisse by e-mail to inquire about a source for the stuff in NY. They didn't know of one, but coincidentally Alice Waters was in NY at that time and had brought some with her for some French Culinary Institute function! I never got close to it.

[Pan]

Joe, I'm not in California, but I saw it all over the place when I was in the Bay Area.

[Jim Dixon]

You can find wild fennel all the way up to Seattle (there's a vacant lot on the east side of Queen Ann covered with it), and probably even farther north. It seems to like disturbed areas, and full sun of course.

I dug one out of the gravel under the east end of the Marquam Bridge (I-5) near OMSI in Portland and planted it next to my garage. When a landscaper friend from SF was visiting and helping in tha yard I had to persuade her not to tear it out.

I just trimmed back the dried stalks, and there's new growth coming in, so it looks like I'll have fresh fronds for awhile yet.

Jim

[JosephB]

You can find wild fennel all the way up to Seattle (there's a vacant lot on the east side of Queen Ann covered with it), and probably even farther north. It seems to like disturbed areas, and full sun of course.

I dug one out of the gravel under the east end of the Marquam Bridge (I-5) near OMSI in Portland and planted it next to my garage. When a landscaper friend from SF was visiting and helping in tha yard I had to persuade her not to tear it out.

I just trimmed back the dried stalks, and there's new growth coming in, so it looks like I'll have fresh fronds for awhile yet.

Jim

Do you think there's any chance this stuff would grow on the East Coast?

[JosephB]

Joe, I'm not in California, but I saw it all over the place when I was in the Bay Area.

Of course your not in Cal., but I thought that you might be a frequent visitor.

[russ parsons]

i did a piece last fall on using wild fennel seeds. the greens are great, too, of course, but as you'll probably discover, there's no good way to preserve them (at least not that i've found). the seeds will last a long time, though. they're different than the fennel seeds you buy in the grocery. they haven't been dried, so the flavor is much "greener". it's a real intense flash of fennel flavor.

a couple of tricks i discovered: when you start to pick from a fennel bush, always taste a couple of seeds first. sometimes they've been sprayed, even those growing in the most unexpected areas. i found those had a really intense mouth-numbing quality that was not at all good. once you get them home, refrigerate them. this sounds weird, but the ones i didn't refrigerate got very moldy pretty fast. remember, they haven't been dried.

i don't remember exactly what the recipes were i did with them. i do remember a polpete that was very good. my favorite was spiking fish poaching broth with the fresh fennel seed, then pouring it over the cooked fish and refrigerating it to make a nice fresh gelee. that was a good dish, if you like fish jelly (and who doesn't?).

[badthings]

The only problem with really wild fennel in California is that dogs are at least as fond of it as we are.

[Wolfert]

Outside California, wild fennel can be found in some Italian markets around March19, the day of the feast of Saint Joseph.

I have blanched and frozen wild fennel with great success. Wash, drain and trim away all hard stalks and any tough sprigs. Blanch for 1 minute, chill, drain well and freeze.

[Pan]

Joe, I'm not in California, but I saw it all over the place when I was in the Bay Area.

Of course your not in Cal., but I thought that you might be a frequent visitor.

My brother lives in SF, but the last time I was there was over 2 years ago.

[JosephB]

Joe, I'm not in California, but I saw it all over the place when I was in the Bay Area.

Of course your not in Cal., but I thought that you might be a frequent visitor.

My brother lives in SF, but the last time I was there was over 2 years ago.

You're overdue for trip there.

[JosephB]

Outside California, wild fennel can be found in some Italian markets around March19, the day of the feast of Saint Joseph.

I have blanched and frozen wild fennel with great success. Wash, drain and trim away all hard stalks and any tough sprigs. Blanch for 1 minute, chill, drain well and freeze.

Really! Have you ever seen it in a NY market during San Giuseppe?

It turns out that after sorting through some dry stems I only had about 8 oz. of feathery fronds. Rather than freeze any of it, I decided to make a batch of "condimenti" and share it with friends. I found some fresh sardines at Citarella. I had some very good Sicilian olive oil, tomato paste, and salt packed anchovies from Sciacca. I bought some European pinoli, Persian saffron threads, currants, onion, and bucatini. I prepared the condimentri and toasted some fresh bread crumbs. The result was divine.