Fabulous Fennel

Fennel

From seed to stem, the entire fennel plant is edible and used in many different ways to impart mild, anise-like flavour to foods. Fennel’s unusual licorice taste goes especially well with tomato and fish dishes.

Nutritional Breakdown

One Cup of Fennel

• Contains about 25 calories
• Contains three times the daily requirement for vitamin C to help keep skin healthy
• Contains 10 percent of the daily requirement for fibre to help maintain intestinal health
• Contains one-third of a day’s supply of vitamin A

At the Market

You can find fennel in most well-stocked supermarkets and always in Italian food markets. Choose stalks with smooth whitish-green bulbs and stems with no cracks and fresh-looking, feathery fronds.

Fresh fennel is widely available in fall and winter months.

In the Kitchen

Separate fennel stems from the bulb before storing. Wrap stalks and bulb separately in plastic bags and put in the crisper section of the refrigerator for up to three or four days. Use the stalks first, because they don’t keep as well. Fennel becomes less flavourful with longer storage; it dries out and starts to turn brown.

To prepare fennel for cooking or eating raw, trim the base and remove any tough outer ribs. Trim off stalks with feathery leaves. Halve, core and slice the bulb. Raw fennel will turn brown soon after slicing. To prevent discolouration, drop sliced fennel into a bowl of water with a little lemon juice and refrigerate until ready to cook or serve.

Fennel can be steamed, boiled, braised or eaten raw. To braise fennel, combine two sliced fennel bulbs and 1/2 cup chicken broth, vegetable broth or white wine in a large skillet. Bring broth to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until fennel is tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Makes four servings. The stalks and feathery leaves can be used as a seasoning or garnish for soups, salads, and seafood. You can cut up fennel stalks and use the pieces as you would celery: on a vegetable platter, in a stuffing or in a tuna fish salad.

Fennel in Recipes

Fennel has an affinity for fish. In France, for example, fish is often baked in a bed of sliced fennel bulb. You can grill fish over fennel stalks or add fennel leaves to the poaching broth for a large salmon.

Fresh Ideas

• Sprinkle chopped fresh fennel leaves on cooked shrimp or clams.
• Use fennel stalks as “boats,” similar to celery sticks, for carrying fillings such as chicken salad or tuna salad.
• Add fennel stalks along with other “soup greens” to flavour poultry and fish broths.
• Add chopped fennel stalks to the other seasoning vegetables (onion, garlic and carrot) when making tomato sauce.
• Use chopped fennel leaves to season potato home fries and “hash” mixtures.