Fabulous Fennel

An ancient plant used for it’s herb, vegetable and seed.

The herb fennel is part of the carrot family. Herb fennel originated in the Mediterranean, but is easy to grow in most soils and makes a good tall plant for the back of a border. The stalks can be dried and used for aromatic fuel on a barbecue, the fronds for salads, stuffings and stocks and the seeds for marinades, rubs, sprinkling onto bread or baking into biscuits.

Fennel has a mild aniseed flavour, medicinally, it is an excellent stomach and intestinal remedy, relieving flatulence, colic and stimulating digestion.

Fennel tea will increase the flow of milk in nursing mothers.

Essential oil of fennel used in a massage helps ease muscular and rheumatic joints.

Florence fennel or bulb fennel is the vegetable form, it is an annual with a white, bulbous, edible stem. This has a crunchy texture with a juicy aniseed flavour and can be used thinly sliced in salad, simmered in soups, roasted, barbecued, steamed or braised.

The vegetable is high in fiber, low in calories and packed with nutrients, particularly vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus. It is very calming on the digestive system, reducing indigestion, flatulence and constipation, helps regulate blood pressure, menstruation, and respiratory problems.

What To Do With Fennel

Fennel grows a bit like celery, if you get it pulled straight from the ground, the roots can be carefully cleaned and braised.

Pull the outer leaves off as they can be a bit tough. The inner bulb is the best bit, tender and juicy for salads, steamed, roasted or braised as a vegetable or sliced up in casserole.

The green stalks can be used to flavour stocks and soups.

The feathery fronds can be used as a herb is salads and soups.

However if you have supermarket trimmed fennel, it’s been trimmed for you and you can use the whole thing.

Below are a few of my favourite fennel recipes. Make the most of it when it is in season!

quartered fennel bulbs braised with white wine and garlic

Braised Fennel

Serves 4

Slow cooking fennel makes it a delicious accompaniment to meat, poultry or fish. This is a traditional French way of cooking fennel.

2 bulbs of fennel, about 400g

4 cloves of garlic with the skin on

150ml white wine

2 tbsp oil

Salt & pepper

  1. Cut the fennel bulbs into quarters or halves if small.
  2. Heat a heavy based pan on a medium heat, add the oil and fry the fennel cut side down for about 5 min, each side to colour a little.
  3. Add the garlic and white wine, it will bubble in the hot pan.
  4. Turn the heat down, put a lid on the pan and simmer gently for 40mins or until tender.
  5. Once cooked, remove the fennel from the pan & keep warm, remove the garlic cloves from their skins & mash into the pan juices. Boil to a syrupy consistency, then pour over the fennel. Finish with a scattering of fennel fronds.
Roast fennel wedges & aubergine chunks mixed with feta cheese & lemon dressing

Roast Fennel & Aubergine Salad

Serves 4

This salad can be either eaten warm or cold, the sharpness of the feta cheese complements the aniseed flavours of the fennel and creamy texture of the aubergine.

1 medium aubergine about 300g

1 large bulb fennel about 300g

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seed

1 200g pack feta cheese

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

25g chopped parsley

  1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6
  2. Cut the aubergine into approx. 1.5cm chunks
  3. Trim the fennel & cut into 8 wedges, with the root intact to keep the layers attached.
  4. Put the aubergine and fennel into a roasting tin, drizzle over the oil, season with a pepper, a little salt & the cumin seed. Roast for 30 – 40 mins, until the vegetables have charred a little round the edges and the fennel is soft.
  5. Cut or crumble the feta cheese into pieces, put into a bowl, mix with the lemon zest, juice and parsley.
  6. When the aubergine and fennel are cooked, remove from the oven & mix everything together while the vegetables are still hot. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.
thinly sliced fennel tossed with sliced kiwi fruit, mint & citrus juice. decorated with pink grapefruit, orange & kiwi fruit slices.

Citrus Fennel Salad

Serves 4

A refreshing crisp salad ideal with roast lamb or duck, also good with oily fish like salmon, mackerel or herring.

1 red grapefruit

2 oranges

2 kiwi fruit

1 bulb fennel approx. 200 – 300g

Black pepper

Olive oil

1 heaped tbsp shredded mint

  1. With a knife, peel the grapefruit & oranges, then cut out the segments so that you have no pith or skin left on the fruit. Squeeze the juice from the core that is left and reserve.
  2. Rub the kiwi fruit in a towel to remove some of the fuzz from the skin. Top & tail, then cut in half length wise and slice into approx. 5mm slices.
  3. Finely slice the fennel, then toss with the kiwi, mint and citrus juices.
  4. Spread over a platter or individual plates, arrange the citrus segments, drizzle with a little olive oil and a grind of black pepper.
thinly sliced fennel topped with mozzerella cheese chunks and salsa verde sauce

Fennel & Mozzerella Salad with Salsa Verde

Serves 4

This crisp fennel salad with soft, juicy mozzarella cheese and piquant salsa verde is great eaten as it is with a slice of crusty bread or served with a selection of cured meats to make a meal.

Salsa Verde

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp drained capers

3 sm cocktail gherkins

4 anchovy fillets

4g fresh parsley

2g fresh basil

2g fresh mint

1 tsp Dijon mustard

4 – 6 tbsp olive oil

2 – 3 tsp red or white wine vinegar

Salad

1 bulb fennel approx. 200 – 300g

1 x 240g pack mozzarella cheese

Juice of ½ small lemon

Sprinkle of smoked paprika

  1. Make the salsa verde by chopping all the ingredients up and mixing well. Add enough olive oil and vinegar to make a coarse textured sauce.
  2. Thinly slice the fennel, toss with the lemon juice and spread onto a serving dish.
  3. Tear the mozzarella into chunks and scatter over the fennel.
  4. Drizzle over the salsa verde, if there’s too much serve the remainder separately.
  5. Dust with smoked paprika and serve.
Roasted fennel, red peppers and chick peas, with a harissa, tomato & lemon dressing

Roast Fennel with Red Peppers & Chickpeas

Serves 4

This dish can be a vegetarian main course or a salad. It has Middle Eastern flavours and can be spiced up or down to suit.

2 bulbs of fennel, about 400g

2 cloves garlic, skin on

12 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp oil

1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained & rinsed

2 roasted red peppers from a jar, drained & rinsed

25g fresh coriander

Dressing

1 ½ tsp harissa paste

¼ preserved lemon rind, rinsed & chopped finely

3 tbsp good olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

  1. Heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6
  2. Cut the fennel into quarters, reserving any feathery tops. Put into a roasting tin, drizzle with oil, salt & pepper and roast for 20mins.
  3. When the time is up, pierce the skin of the tomatoes and add them to one side of the roasting tin. Roast for another 20mins, then remove from the tin.
  4. Cut the red peppers into strips, about 1cm thick, add them to the roasting tin once you have removed the tomatoes. Roast for 10mins, then add the chickpeas, stirring everything together & put back into the oven for a final 10mins.
  5. Make the dressing – mash the roast tomatoes and mix with the harissa paste, preserved lemon rind, olive oil and lemon juice.
  6. Roughly chop the coriander.
  7. Once the roasting time is up, remove the roasting tin from the oven, drizzle the dressing over the fennel & chickpea mixture and mix well. Stir through the coriander and garnish with any reserved fennel tops.
Slices of pork fillet served with roast fennel & orange slice, sherry & mustard sauce

Roast Pork Fillet with Orange, Fennel & Sherry

Serves  2 – 3

This is a really easy recipe suitable either for a week night dinner or to have with friends.  Marinate it in the morning to have for supper.

1 pork fillet trimmed

2 sm fennel bulbs about 200g in total

1 med orange sliced

100ml dry sherry

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt & pepper

  1. Cut each bulb of fennel into 8 wedges, keeping the layers intact. Cut the orange into 6 or 7 slices.
  2. Mix the sherry, oil, mustard, rosemary & garlic together with a good grinding of black pepper to make a marinade.
  3. Put the meat, fennel, orange slices and marinade into a bowl or bag and mix well together. Put into the fridge and leave for around 12 hours, turning a couple of times if you can.
  4. Heat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas7.
  5. Tip the content of the bag or bowl into a roasting tin and roast for 45 mins.
  6. Remove from the oven, pour off the juices into a pan and keep the meat and vegetables warm.
  7. Reduce the sauce to a syrupy consistency, season to taste.
  8. Serve the meat sliced with a couple of pieces of fennel per person, a piece of caramelised orange & a drizzle of sauce.