Fennel

[snowangel]

What are your favorite preparations?

[Alex]

Raw, sliced very thin, with avocado and blood orange in a light citrus vinaigrette.

[tommy]

yes yes. raw and thin for sure. as a slaw or salad preparation. hell, just add some to any salad and people will be amazed.

roasted for sure for sure. evoo/s/p.

[dano1]

braised is good. Halve, core and brown in evo and/or butter, chix stock to braise-toss in the oven. Can add tomatos, olives, garlic confit etc...as you like.

Salad with citrus vinaigrette ain't bad either though.

hth, danny

[hjshorter]

In a gratin, or in an amazing seafood soup in Julia & Jacques: Cooking at Home.

[Jinmyo]

Yes. Definitely.

(I love fennel.)

[snowangel]

Yes. Definitely.

(I love fennel.)

With steak and/or bacon?

I have not been familiar with fennel, but have recently discovered its wonders. I've done raw and braised. It would probably be wonderful with bacon.

Jin, more ideas, please.

Edited November 15, 2003 by snowangel (log)

[marie-louise]

As a salad-sliced thinly, w/ oranges, prosciutto, and shaved Parmesan. Dressing of olive oil & orange juice.

I also like adding it to seafood soups. I think I've braised it once or twice. It was good; I should do that more often.

[Malawry]

In a slaw. Especially tossed with sugar and salt and left to drain for an hour or so, then rinsed and tossed with rice wine vinegar and friends

Fennel compote, which I devised at school once, is also excellent.

Fennel-Tomato Compote

Onions, very thinly sliced

Olive oil

Sea salt and white pepper

Fennel, very thinly sliced

Chicken stock

Tomato concasse

Bouquet Garnis

Sweat down onions in plenty of olive oil. Season. When softened, add fennel. Soften fennel briefly. Add remaining ingredients and plenty of seasoning. Bring to a boil on the stove and then cover with a cartouche (parchment paper circle). Bake in a moderate oven until completely softened and melted down, about 45 minutes. Stir periodically to prevent sticking. Garnish with fennel fronds.

[SobaAddict70]

Shave thinly, toss with wild mushrooms and shavings of Parm-Reg, lemon juice, EVOO, sea salt (if you want). Eat.

Soba

[cheeseandchocolate]

Braised, definitely. There's a very, very tasty recipe in the Zuni Cafe Cookbook. Mmmmmm.

I also like it sliced very thinly (yes, I suppose you could say "shaved") in a butter-lettuce salad with sliced kalamata olives and a lemon-EVOO-Dijon vinaigrette. Mmmmmmm.

But braised fennel is really, really

[jat]

When I do a Rao's type of lemon-lemony broiled chicken, I do a fennel-tomatoe

(plus) salade. Has anyone tried Pacific Culinaria Blood orange avocado oil?

William Sonoma carries it, and it has good flavor.

[KatieLoeb]

I do a "Funky Waldorf Salad" with Fennel, Pears and Cashews instead of Celery, Apples and Walnuts. I still add golden raisins and add a bit of crumbled blue cheese. Dressing is too-thick commercial Russian dressing thinned with some defrosted apple juice concentrate. A bit of the fennel fronds diced on top and it's very pretty as well as quite tasty.

[markabauman]

Besides all of the above, I like to grill thicker slices of fennel along with other vegetables for an antipasto-drizzled with evoo and shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Found some blood orange vinegar at Salumeria Italiana in Boston's North End- I mix it along with some of the blood orange juice for the dressing for the shaved fennel-black olive-blood orange salad. Don't forget to reserve and chop some of the fennel fronds as a garnish.

[Verjuice]

I recently tried my luck with Claudia Fleming's Candied Fennel with Pernod-Orange Sorbet and Pernod Whipped Cream. She suggests adding Caramel Blood Oranges and/or Orange Cornmeal Shortbread to make a composed dessert. In any case, this really parallels the fennel-citrus theme that so many of us seem to go nuts for.

The recipe is dead easy, too.

[gsquared]

Simmer slices and fronds gently in verjus until soft and liquid almost gone. Puree. Scrape through a tamis. Reduce by 1/3. Add a few knobs of butter. Season. Whizz with an immersion blender. Serve with pan fried fresh fish.

edited for spelling.

Edited November 16, 2003 by gsquared (log)

[curlywurlyfi]

griddled and tossed with a little lemon juice + a bit more EVOO

roasted with shallots, unpeeled garlic cloves, a few crushed fennel seeds + a little stock + OO

but I think raw in salads is best - real eye-popping flavour. am loving the idea of blood orange avocado oil...

I want fennel NOW.

[Redsugar]

"And he who battled and subdued,

A wreath of fennel wore." [Longfellow: The Goblet of Life, st. 6.]

Fennel is a vegetable which has a number of aliases, and in our markets it is sometimes sold under its French name, anise. In England, it has a long history, being one of the nine holy herbs of the Anglo-Saxons. To the extent of my understanding, only in Italy & France is it particulary popular today: The Italians regarding it as a vegetable and using the bulbous root which is known as *finnochio or Florence fennel, no doubt to distinguish it from the herb; whereas the French seem basically to regard it as an herb.

Actually, all parts of the plant can be used: the root, the feathery leaves, the seeds, and even the flowers. It looks like a cross between celery and an onion; the root being white and bulbous, the stalks ribbed like celery. The leaves are quite fine, like dill, and it has a flavor all its own. Indeed, most of us know it best as the ingredient which gives licorice its distinctive flavor. Both French & Italians consider it an aid to digestion and an encourager of the appetite.

My experience is that you can’t know what the flavor of fennel will be simply by examining it. Sometimes heads browned on the outside will be perfect inside; sometimes the pristine ones turn out to be tasteless. And, I must forewarn you – fennel isn’t exactly an economical vegetable because often the outer layer is so stringy that it has to be discarded. Select firm, solid white bulbs with rigid crisp stalks. Heads can be cut into quarters and braised with tomatoes and olives à la Niçoise. Fennel is delicious when braised with onions or included in a salad with blue-veined cheese and a simple vinaigrette.

I offer one of my simplest methods for serving this vegetable – a creamy purée which is especially tasteful with grilled fish or roast pork:

1 fennel bulb; 12 fl. oz. chicken stock; 1½ Tbsp heavy cream; ½ lb. potatoes; 1½ oz. butter; 1½ EACH salt & white pepper.

Cut fennel into 1-inch pieces; peel potatoes and cut into thirds. Place vegetables, stock and an equal measure of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook, loosely covered, for 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Drain and place fennel in processor or food mill. Process until puréed; then add butter, cream, salt & pepper. Rice the potatoes (do not whir in the processor or you'll get a library paste) and combine with the puréed fennel. Keep warm over hot water until serving time.

You may like to consult another version of http://topchefs.chef2chef.net/recipes/agin...parchment.shtml]potato-fennel purée.

*Risotto Con i Finocchio

1 lb. fennel; 3 oz. butter; 1 onion, finely chopped; 1 and 1/3 cups uncooked long-grain rice; 3½ cups stock; 1 oz. freshly grated Parmesan.

Peel, trim, thinly slice bulbs; chop & reserve the leaves. Sauté onion & sliced fennel until fennel softens. Likewise with the rice until it turns golden brown.

Add about 4 fl. oz. boiling stock to rice mixture; stir constantly until rice absorbs liquid. Gradually stir in about 12 fl .oz stock; cook over low flame 20 minutes, adding more stock as needed to prevent rice becoming dry. Stir cheese and remaining butter into cooked rice mixture. Let stand a few minutes, then spoon into heated service bowl. Garnish with chopped fennel leaves.

Edited November 15, 2004 by Redsugar (log)

[Kevin72]

I love fennel, probably to a fault. It's my default "go to" for adding punch to any dish and I listed fennel seeds as one of my ingredients in the Seasonings you can't go without thread. In the spring it's a rare meal that doesn't have fennel in it at some point.

Oddly enough though I still hate black licorice.

[Jake]

Mmmmmm, fennel. I love braised and roasted fennel, all the brown carmelized bits.

Edited November 15, 2004 by Jake (log)

[ludja]

Oddly enough though I still hate black licorice.

←

Same here, love fennel, dislike black licorice...

Tomato and Fennel is a great combination too-- in risottos or a soup.

[GG Mora]

Seafood "stew" with fennel, saffron and white wine (clams, mussels, sturdy white fish).

Also, fennel pollen rubbed on roasting chicken, and a recent discovery – tossed with cauliflower for roasting.

[bloviatrix]

I'm already on record for stating that all vegetables are better roasted. Fennel is great tossed in evoo with a little balsamic added at the end. I introduced my in-laws to this and they're hooked.

[eunny jang]

I love a fennel-onion-parsnip gratin.

And I love fennel in marinated salads.

[johnnyd]

Indespensible in my Chicken Salads.

I cut thick outer leaves into rings upon which I place fish for poaching.

Serve often julienned by mandoline w/EVOO and microplaned Pecorino Romano...

Started adding it into my coleslaw this summer; 2:1 w/cabbage.