Vegan Cooking Tips
Quick & Easy Fennel Dishes
by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD, EdD, CCE
Fresh fennel, also known as Sweet Anise, Finnochio, Florentine Fennel, and Florence Fennel is an aromatic vegetable, garnish, and flavoring. Fennel is a member of the parsley family, but resembles a cross between celery and dill, and tastes and smells like licorice.
Ancient Greeks thought of fennel as a symbol of victory and success. Ancient Romans believed fennel had the ability to sharpen eyesight. Herbalists make a tea by boiling fennel and allowing it to steep. This is used to soothe the stomach. Fennel is a good source of potassium and also provides some vitamin C, folic acid, and calcium.
Fennel has long been used in Mediterranean, Asian, and South Asian cuisine. Fennel seeds, popular in Southeast Asian cooking, can also be used to flavor candy and beverages. Try a bit of fresh, shaved fennel in iced tea or hot tea for a different spin.
Fennel can be eaten raw. Just de-string the bulb and the stalks with a vegetable peeler and crunch on it as you would celery. No time to create? Buy a bagged salad, slice fresh fennel, toss in walnuts, and you have an upscale salad with no fuss.
The white bulb portion is the most popular part of fresh fennel. Many people like to shave fresh fennel, and add it to green salads, cooked green vegetables, mashed potatoes, risottos, and pasta. If you have an overage of fennel bulbs, you can poach or braise them in vegetable broth, and serve as an accompaniment.
Put together a fast fennel salad by thinly slicing a fresh fennel bulb, toss with finely diced red onion, fresh or canned orange segments, and a splash of white vinegar and olive oil. If you have a bit more time, combine roasted or thinly sliced fresh beets with shaved fennel, some balsamic vinegar, diced onions, walnuts, soy nuts or pistachios, and a smattering of fresh, minced garlic and ginger for a cold or warm salad entrée. Create a fennel "ragu," by chopping fresh fennel, combining with canned, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, and diced onion and allow to cook and simmer (this would make a great slow cooker item) until tender and flavors are combined. Serve over noodles, spaghetti, rice, or cooked grains, topped with fresh or caramelized onions.
Dried fennel seed, brown or green, is used as a spice. If your fennel seed is a bit old, and has turned gray, you may be able to revive its black licorice flavor by pan-toasting it in a super-hot, dry (no oil) pan. Remember that fennel seed can be very intense, so use sparingly. When fresh fennel is not available, fennel seeds are used to flavor potato salads and cole slaw, salad dressings, vegetable and bean soups, pasta and rice dishes, and cooked grains.
