Don Cazentre / The Post-Standard
When Angela Nelson decided to start an organic vegetable farm in Marcellus last year, she knew one of the things she would plant was fennel.
Why fennel?
"It's so unusual, in the smell and the flavor," she said. "I love it."
If you've never smelled, eaten or cooked with fennel you might be surprised: It has a definite aroma of anise (think licorice) and a corresponding sweetish taste.
That may seem strange for a green-and-white vegetable that bears some resemblance to an oddly shaped celery bunch. New York Times food writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman writes that he used to think of fennel as "licorice celery."
It has a white bulb-like base at the bottom, several green stalks in the middle and some soft green fronds at the top.
Take a bite of a raw piece from the edible base (found only on the type known as Florence fennel) and you'll taste the anise. Or take a whiff of the fronds, which are used as a fragrant herbal garnish, and you might think you stepped into a candy store.
Fennel is rarely the star of a dish. It's more like a terrific supporting player. Cooks love the way fennel's aromas and flavors merge with other foods.
"I particularly like pairing it with pears in pork or lamb dishes," said Bob Langkammerer, regional executive chef at Wegmans markets. "Some of our pork recipes with fennel are amazing."
Several of Wegmans' published recipes also use it with figs, on its own or as an accompaniment to pork.
Recently, Langkammerer said, he grilled some fennel to use with an orange and fennel salad recipe.
Chef Randall Colman of the Inn Between, in Camillus, also likes the way fennel mixes with other foods. He compares its flavor to tarragon, a much-used herb in French cooking.
"I love fennel and I think it has affinity and synergistic effect with tomatoes,"
Colman said. He uses fennel and tomatoes in a recipe for steamed mussels. He also pairs fennel with oranges.
"The seeds are a must in Italian sausage," Colman said. "If I find myself without fresh fennel, I will sometimes use the seeds to impart the desired flavor that I am looking for."
Angela Nelson, whose Daily Harvest Farm stand can be found at the Downtown Farmers Market in Syracuse each Tuesday, has nearly run out of the fennel she planted this year.
But it is a good fall vegetable, because it will keep growing as the weather cools and because its flavor matches well with savory fall foods. It can be found in almost all local food markets.
During the summer, Nelson sold a lot of fennel to people looking for something different at the downtown market.
"People are interested, but they want to know how to use it," Nelson said. She hands out recipes along with the vegetables she sells. Some use cooked fennel and some use it for salads.
Salads make use of the fresh fennel, with its burst of flavor. Cooking takes some of the edge off.
"The more you cook it, the more it dulls down the sweetness and the anise," she said. "That's why I really like it in salads. It's got that flavor."
Bittman, who writes in The New York Times food section as "The Minimalist," has this advice on using fennel for salads:
"Because it's a bulb, and an oddly shaped one at that, fennel may be daunting to handle if you've never done it before. Start by trimming the top off, saving a few of the feathery fronds for garnish if you like, and then cutting the bulb into quarters. The usually super-tough outermost layer is sometimes best discarded, but it's a judgment you have to make with each specimen. Then simply slice as thinly as possible. It's a perfect excuse to break out that mandoline, as what you're after are paper-thin slices that, like lettuce, give you a bed to build on."
Nelson adds that you often need to discard to core of the bulb, because it can be tough.
Why fennel?
"It's so unusual, in the smell and the flavor," she said. "I love it."
If you've never smelled, eaten or cooked with fennel you might be surprised: It has a definite aroma of anise (think licorice) and a corresponding sweetish taste.
That may seem strange for a green-and-white vegetable that bears some resemblance to an oddly shaped celery bunch. New York Times food writer and cookbook author Mark Bittman writes that he used to think of fennel as "licorice celery."
It has a white bulb-like base at the bottom, several green stalks in the middle and some soft green fronds at the top.
Take a bite of a raw piece from the edible base (found only on the type known as Florence fennel) and you'll taste the anise. Or take a whiff of the fronds, which are used as a fragrant herbal garnish, and you might think you stepped into a candy store.
Fennel is rarely the star of a dish. It's more like a terrific supporting player. Cooks love the way fennel's aromas and flavors merge with other foods.
"I particularly like pairing it with pears in pork or lamb dishes," said Bob Langkammerer, regional executive chef at Wegmans markets. "Some of our pork recipes with fennel are amazing."
Several of Wegmans' published recipes also use it with figs, on its own or as an accompaniment to pork.
Recently, Langkammerer said, he grilled some fennel to use with an orange and fennel salad recipe.
Chef Randall Colman of the Inn Between, in Camillus, also likes the way fennel mixes with other foods. He compares its flavor to tarragon, a much-used herb in French cooking.
"I love fennel and I think it has affinity and synergistic effect with tomatoes,"
Colman said. He uses fennel and tomatoes in a recipe for steamed mussels. He also pairs fennel with oranges.
"The seeds are a must in Italian sausage," Colman said. "If I find myself without fresh fennel, I will sometimes use the seeds to impart the desired flavor that I am looking for."
Angela Nelson, whose Daily Harvest Farm stand can be found at the Downtown Farmers Market in Syracuse each Tuesday, has nearly run out of the fennel she planted this year.
But it is a good fall vegetable, because it will keep growing as the weather cools and because its flavor matches well with savory fall foods. It can be found in almost all local food markets.
During the summer, Nelson sold a lot of fennel to people looking for something different at the downtown market.
"People are interested, but they want to know how to use it," Nelson said. She hands out recipes along with the vegetables she sells. Some use cooked fennel and some use it for salads.
Salads make use of the fresh fennel, with its burst of flavor. Cooking takes some of the edge off.
"The more you cook it, the more it dulls down the sweetness and the anise," she said. "That's why I really like it in salads. It's got that flavor."
Bittman, who writes in The New York Times food section as "The Minimalist," has this advice on using fennel for salads:
"Because it's a bulb, and an oddly shaped one at that, fennel may be daunting to handle if you've never done it before. Start by trimming the top off, saving a few of the feathery fronds for garnish if you like, and then cutting the bulb into quarters. The usually super-tough outermost layer is sometimes best discarded, but it's a judgment you have to make with each specimen. Then simply slice as thinly as possible. It's a perfect excuse to break out that mandoline, as what you're after are paper-thin slices that, like lettuce, give you a bed to build on."
Nelson adds that you often need to discard to core of the bulb, because it can be tough.
Fennel facts:
- There are three types: bitter fennel and sweet fennel, both used primarily as herbs, and Florence fennel, whose base is prepared as a vegetable.
- It's a member of the parsley family
- Fennel seeds are an important seasoning in Italian sausage.
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