Everyone goes crazy for kale, but if I had my way, fennel would be all the rage too. It’s one of the most underrated vegetables, and if you’re not already cooking with it, you absolutely should be. It has a fresh, aromatic anise flavor, and it can be eaten raw, sautéed, roasted, or even added to soups and sauces. If you’ve never worked with it before, this funky-looking veggie might be intimidating from the outside, but don’t let it scare you. Once you know how to approach it, it’s easy to work with.
Fennel is a member of the carrot family, though it’s not a root vegetable. The base of its long stalks weave together to form a thick, crisp bulb that grows above ground. Above the bulb, at the tip of the stalks, it has light, feathery leaves that resemble dill. When it goes to seed, fennel also produces small yellow flowers among the leaves. Every part of it is edible, from the bulb to the flowers, and it can be eaten raw or cooked.
Though the stalks and leaves are edible, fennel recipes most often call for the bulb. When raw, it has a crisp texture similar to celery and a fresh licorice flavor. It caramelizes as it cooks, taking on a sweeter flavor and tender, melt-in-your mouth texture.
And did I mention that it has all sorts of health benefits too? It’s low in calories, but high in nutrients like dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin C, to name a few.
Technically speaking, all parts of the plant are edible, but most people will find the stalks too tough and fibrous to eat. The leaves can be chopped and used to flavor salads, dressings, marinades and sauces. They tend to have a slightly more citrusy flavor than the base. The base (or bulb) is delicious raw or cooked.
Which is why fennel fronds are also the best. Fennel fronds come free with every fennel purchase you make. They’re a built-in deal that you don’t even have to negotiate. Instant savings!
Removing the fronds from the stalks is as easy as it sounds—just pull em off!—and incorporating them into dishes, especially dishes where youre already using fennel bulb, is a no-brainer. We use them in the same way we’d use other fresh, soft herbs like parsley or dill. You can mix chopped fennel fronds into pestos, salsas, stocks, curries, and vinaigrettes for an added hit of freshness. You can use them to top yogurt dips, eggs, stir-fries, toasts, and seared meats. And theyre delicious when tossed into green salads or strewn on top of roasted vegetables.
Okay, lets slow down for a minute. You might be thinking: Excuse me? Fronds? What in tarnation are those?
The flavor of fennel fronds is very similar to the bulb that they come with. Fennel tastes a bit like licorice, equal parts bright and vegetal, and when you roast or caramelize fennel, it develops a natural sweetness that balances out its bitterness. The fronds boast that same anise-forward flavor, but taste more…green, if that makes any sense, with a more delicate texture.
Fronds are those cute frilly green leafy things attached to the stalks that grow out of a fennel bulb. They kind of look like fresh dill, and they have a texture that’s light and feathery. If you tickled someone with fennel fronds, they’d probably giggle. And then tell you to stop.
More Basic Vegetable Recipes
If you loved learning how to cook fennel, try one of these basic vegetable recipes next:
What to do with Fennel stems and leaves?
FAQ
Are fennel leaves good for you?
What do you do with the leaves of fennel?
Can you eat fennel leaves raw?
What is the taste of fennel leaf?
Can you eat fennel leaves?
Traditionally the leaves were used when cooking fish but there is so much more to this unique herb and vegetable. Every part of the fennel plant can be eaten including the leaves, bulb, flowers, and seeds. So read on to find out more about cooking and eating fennel including some delicious recipes you can try at home.
How can one eat fennel seeds?
Fennel seeds can be eaten on their own as a sautéed or processed snack. They can also be mixed with other seeds, in preparations or as decoration.
How do you eat fennel fronds?
1. Add the Leafy Fronds to Salads: Strip the fronds from the stalks and toss them in your next green salad. They’ll add just the faintest hint of licorice to each bite. 2. Make Fennel Pesto: As Sara Kate would be quick to point out, any green is pesto waiting to happen. Try tossing fennel pesto with pasta or rubbing it onto meat before roasting. 3.
Are fennel stalks hard to eat?
Fennel stalks are quite tough and can be a bit woody making them difficult to eat. They add wonderful flavor to stocks and broths. Younger stalks are often crunchy and not tough and these can be chopped up into stir-fries, salads, pasta or roasted as you would the bulb.