Fennel - Suggestions please!

Seakay

Fennel is not a root vegetable, although it is a type of bulb. It can be eaten sliced and raw (halve bulb and remove the hard central bit near the root, then slice each half) as a refreshing salad with segment of orange and grapefruit, and a little french dressing. Chicory is sometimes added, or sliced avacado, if you want something more substantial for a starter or for a main course salad. My mum used to use one fennel bulb, one pink grapefuit and two oranges as a starter for four. Any green leaves may be used in the same way as the herb fennel (flavouring for fish, chopped in salads etc).

Fennel may be roasted http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001677roasted_fennel.php

or cooked in other ways - Google cooked fennel for more ideas.

Pink.

Hi MessyTessie,

Congratulations on your prize! There's an older thread with lots of ideas on how to cook fennel so I've merged your thread with it to keep all the suggestions together.

I steam the parsnips until they are almost cooked then coat them in butter and finish them off in the oven.

Pink

artichoke

Hi


I have 5 fennel bulbs growing in veg patch...

Ihave never grown fennel before and did not expect them all the survive as they need a sunny well drained patch and for the last few years our veg patch has been water logged and hardly seen any sun....

anyway i now have 5 fennel bulbs to be used quite soon...

I have never cooked fennel before but i love the smell of the leaves...

I have a recipe for fennel and potato bake (with cream and egg in it...)

a recipe for fennel and roast lamb ( i keep sheep so have lots of lamb recipes!)

but i need a few more suggestions.....

any recommended tried and tested recipes?

thanks

art

marmiterulesok

This is a recipe for a slow cooker,but I'm sure you could adapt it,if you don't have one.

Fennel with tomatoes,lemon and parmesan.

-2 large fennel bulbs
-30mls olive oil
-400g tinned,chopped tomatoes
-salt and freshly ground black pepper
-finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon
-2 tsp sugar
-150mls vegetable stock
-4 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

-Trim the fennel and cut lengthways into quarters,leaving the base intact.

-Heat the oil in a frying pan,add the fennel and cook over a high heat until golden brown on all sides.Lift out and arrange in the slow cooker in an even layer.

-To the pan,add the tomatoes,seasoning,lemon zest and juice,sugar and stock.Bring just to the boil and pour over the fennel.

-Cover and cook on High for 5-8 hours until soft and tender.

-Carefully spoon the fennel and sauce into a shallow flameproof dish.

-Sprinkle with the Parmesan and put under a hot grill until bubbling and golden brown.

The serving suggestion is having it as a side dish/starter with fresh,crusty bread.As an alternative to Parmesan,you can use slices of Mozzarella.

I've made this a few times,but I omit the cheese and grilling.It's really tasty.I love the taste of fennel.Fennel's lovely raw too,thinly sliced.

zippychick

Hi artichoke

Now this has dropped down the board, I have merged it with the main fennel thread. Have a read so you can see all the previous discussions, and well done on the growing!

Zip

halcyondaze

Hi, I bought some fennel bulbs reduced , I chopped them finely, and popped into freezer bags. They are now, in the freezer. I have read now, I should have blanched them. Do you think they will be ok?

AlwaysAllie

Personally I think they'll be fine. Lots of sites/books etc suggest blanching veg but I find most are fine without!

AA

halcyondaze

Thank you - AA I am loving freezing veg etc on sale. I froze baby sweetcorn without blanching - fine in a stew

zippychick

ive merged this with the fennel thread

freeze fresh fruit/veg may also be helpful as may how to freeze different vegetables
Zip

lilian1977

Hi - I have a fennel bulb in my veg box this week and I was going to make a gratin with it using double cream - however I was wondering whether I could use Campbell's Cream of Mushroom condensed soup in place of the cream - has anyone ever tried something like this?

Thanks