We've been trying to figure what to do with the fennel growing like a weed in the new raised-bed herb garden we planted this spring just uphill from the house. The soil up there is poor, with lots of hard rock close to the surface, so we added manure and peat moss and hoped the herbs would find a way to thrive. Some are doing quite well: I can walk out the front door and pick an armload of basil leaves any day of the week, and there's no lack for sage or parsley. But the dill is sparse and the thyme thin, and there's no sign of any cilantro at all. Two years in a row we have utterly failed to raise cilantro. What are we doing wrong?
The fennel, on the other hand, is growing beautifully, its big feathery leaves scenting the air so that I can't resist stuffing a few in my mouth every time I walk by. It looks like dill but tastes like licorice with a bit of a bite. I've never cooked much with fennel before so I'm mulling over where to use the sweet and savory flavor: with grilled white fish and veggies, maybe, or in a sweet custard. Yesterday my husband topped honeydew melon with blueberries and chopped fennel leaves for a remarkably refreshing dessert. But beyond that, I'm stumped: what kind of fun can we have with fennel?
4 comments:
I adore fennel--enjoy! I love it barbecued with some garlic and olive oil. Simple, but delish.
I saw this on The Barefoot Contessa on Food Network once - I made it - it's really good.
Ingredients
2 pounds fennel bulbs
3 to 4 oranges
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 lemons, juiced
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 ounces arugula
Directions
Cut the fronds from the fennel bulbs and reserve some of the feathery leaves for later. Cut each fennel bulb in half and remove the cores with a sharp knife.
Fit a food processor with the thinnest slicing blade. Cut the fennel bulbs into wedges and place horizontally into the feed tube. Process in batches. Peel each orange, remove the pith with a knife, and slice. Set aside.
For the dressing:
Whisk together the oil, juice, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. Place the fennel slices, oranges slices and arugula in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss together. Sprinkle with salt and add some fennel fronds for decoration.
Try this:
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Ingredients.aspx
Cooking Light had an article about Fennel a while back: http://www.cookinglight.com/food/in-season/discovering-fennel-00400000001166/ There are also several Fennel recipes on the CL website. Happy experimenting!
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