Fennel, like cilantro and beets, is a true multi-purpose plant. You can use all of the plant, from the seed and the frond (which is another term for the leaf) to the bulb itself.
RECIPES
BAKED FENNEL, BREAD CRUMBS & HERBS, WITH OR WITHOUT ANCHOVY
FENNEL-CURED SALMON WITH ESCABECHE VEGETABLES
SHAVED FENNEL & MOZZARELLA SALAD WITH BRAISED GOAT NECK
FROZEN VANILLA SYRUP-COATED FENNEL
Fennel is not what I would term a “universal” plant, meaning you won’t find it being used the whole world over, but it has crossed many European borders. To me, it is a European vegetable. In colder climes, the fennel seed is used a lot for curing and in braises and sausages. Florence fennel is the most common to grow. It’s a very beautiful plant, quite ornamental and often grown for beauty’s sake alone, regardless of its edibility.
If you think you have never seen a fennel plant growing before, you are probably wrong. Stick it in the ground and it grows, pretty much anywhere. Fennel is all around you, though you probably just haven’t realized. It grows wild and if you pay attention the next time you’re on the train, you’ll see lots of wild fennel out the window, and along many highway embankments. They grow quite tall (around shoulder height if left to their own devices) and have beautiful small edible yellow flowers. The bulbs of the wild variety tend to be fibrous and quite inedible. I wouldn’t recommend trying it.
Fennel has been used and grown for millennia, traditionally as a medicinal herb. Perhaps, most famously, it is credited with assisting in giving mankind the gift of fire. According to ancient Greek mythology, Prometheus, a Titan, stole fire from Zeus, the King of the Gods, and hid it in a fennel stalk to bring it to earth and give it to mankind. Pliny the Elder, the ancient Roman historian, discussed fennel’s use in his famous encyclopaedic work, Naturaliz Historia, in which he listed at least 20 diseases that fennel was commonly thought to aid in treating. Indeed, it has been used for centuries as a digestive aid, appetite suppressant and weight-loss agent. Crushed seed or leaf can be steeped in hot water to make a lovely tea, and it’s in this form that it’s supposed to aid digestion. On traditional fasting days or during long church sermons, people chewed on fennel seeds to quiet a hungry stomach.
Last year was the first time I tried to grow fennel myself, and sadly I wasn’t very successful, only managing small bulbs, which I pulled out and ate as babies. They were quite tasty. Hopefully I’ll have more success this year. It really is quite foreign to me to grow fennel. On a recent trip to Italy, I remember looking across at this vast green field and thinking it looked like a marsh. On closer inspection I saw that it was in fact a field of fennel. All the fronds were swaying in the breeze and looked almost like a green mist. It was really quite amazing and very beautiful.
Fennel is as delicious raw as it is cooked and it has a wonderful fresh aniseed and menthol bite. It tastes of licorice and anise, but then it is also unlike both of them, being much more delicate in flavor. It’s great with any heavy dishes to lighten them and give balance. Slow-cooked or braised dishes that are quite fatty, such as pork belly, goat neck (see recipe), and lamb shoulder or neck, need clean flavors like fennel to cut through the fat.
One tip to really enhance the lovely delicate flavor of fennel is to cook it with a dash of Pernod, the lovely French apéritif made from star anise and fennel extract. It will really lift your dish.
Fennel is also a beautiful match to fish. Its delightful herbaceous aniseed notes sit so well with fish and it is a classic vegetable used in escabeche and curing of fishes (see recipe). Escabeche is a traditional method of pickling fried (or sometimes poached) seafood, which is used all over the Mediterranean, where the fish is placed in a heavily acidic marinade. It is oh-so delicious. I really can’t stress enough how fine a match fennel and fish are.
Elizabeth Schneider says in her book Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables: “In culinary terms fennel means Italy” where they love fennel so much they serve it in every dish from canapés right through to desserts. If you have never thought of eating sweetened fennel, then you should definitely try the recipe I have included for frozen vanilla syrup-coated fennel (see recipe). You may think this sounds a little odd, but trust me—as a little sweet or palate cleanser between dishes, it is lovely. It will freshen your mouth in readiness for the next course. In India, sugared fennel seeds are often chewed after a meal to sweeten the breath and aid in the digestion of the food.
Is there anything fennel can’t do? Eat it from root to tip. Consume it with both sweet and savory dishes. Combine it with meat or fish. It is a truly delightful, delicate vegetable that I really love.
BAKED FENNEL, BREAD CRUMBS & HERBS, WITH OR WITHOUT ANCHOVY
SERVES 4
A perfect side for all things. It doesn’t have to have the anchovy if it doesn’t take your fancy, but I just love the balance of flavor it brings to the dish.
3½ OUNCES FRESH CIABATTA, TORN INTO PINKY-NAIL-SIZED BITS
⅓ CUP OLIVE OIL
2 LARGE FENNEL
l½ TABLESPOONS BUTTER
3 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED THYME
3 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED ITALIAN PARSLEY
12–16 ANCHOVY-FILLETS (OR NOT)
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND BLACK PEPPER
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the bread crumbs on a large baking sheet and toss with 3 teaspoons of the olive oil. Bake for 8 minutes or until semi-crisp. Take out and set aside for later.
Cut the fennel in half from the root to the top, then cut each half into four wedges. Heat a 10 inch skillet over high heat, add 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, then add the fennel and brown slightly on one side. Once browned, add ⅓ cup of water and the butter and cook out for 3 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half Pour into a cast-iron baking dish (measuring 8½ × 6 × 1½ inches), scatter over the herbs, place the anchovies over the top, scatter over the bread crumbs, drizzle with the remaining oil, season with salt and pepper and bake for about 25 minutes. It’s ready when the fennel can be easily pierced with a fork.
FENNEL-CURED SALMON WITH ESCABECHE VEGETABLES
SERVES 4–6 AS AN ENTRÉE
This is one of my all-time favorite dishes. My salmon of choice is New Zealand regal salmon, a Chinook breed originally from the North Pacific Ocean, now farmed in the Marlborough Sounds region. You can use any oily fish but remember the curing time will vary. Try it with kingfish, sardines or even anchovies. I like to do this amount for two and eat a little over a few days.
2 POUNDS 4 OUNCES SIDE OF SALMON WITH SKIN ON (SEE NOTE)
½ CUP SEA SALT
⅓ CUP WHITE SUGAR
1 TABLESPOON FENNEL SEEDS, TOASTED AND ROUGHLY CRUSHED
2¾ OUNCES FENNEL, FRONDS RESERVED, AND BULBS BRUISED WITH A CLEAVER
FINELY GRATED ZEST OF 1 LEMON
4 SHALLOTS, SLICED
4 BABY CARROTS, THINLY SLICED INTO ROUNDS
1 FENNEL, FRONDS RESERVED AND BULBS SHAVED
3 GARLIC CLOVES, THINLY SLICED
GOOD PINCH FINE SEA SALT
15 TURNS OF WHITE PEPPER FROM A MILL
2 TEASPOONS CORIANDER SEEDS, TOASTED AND ROUGHLY CRUSHED
⅓ CUP RED WINE VINEGAR
l¼ CUPS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
1¼ CUPS WHITE WINE (TRY A RIESLING)
½ CUP FINELY CHOPPED MIXED HERBS (I RECOMMEND DILL, PARSLEY AND CHERVIL)
HORSERADISH CREAM (SEE RECIPE), TO SERVE
For the escabeche vegetables, place the vegetables, salt, pepper and crushed coriander seed in a large heatproof bowl, toss to Coat and leave to sit for 5 minutes. Put the vinegar, oil and wine in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat, pour over the vegetables and allow to cool.
For the cured salmon, place the salmon skin side down in a tray that is at least 1¼ inches deep. Mix the remaining ingredients together, including the reserved fennel fronds, and pat onto the salmon. Leave to cure for 12 hours in the fridge. Rinse the salmon thoroughly and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the salmon skin side down on a chopping board and cut into 
inch thick slices, making sure to not cut through the skin—the salmon flesh should come away from the skin easily. Arrange the slices on a plate. Stir the herbs into the escabeche vegetables, then spoon over the fish. Serve with the horseradish cream.
Note Ask your fishmonger to remove the belly fat and pin-bone the salmon. Ensure you have exactly 2 pounds 4 ounces of the fish with the skin on. The total weight before this should be around 3 pounds 2 ounces.
SHAVED FENNEL & MOZZARELLA SALAD WITH BRAISED GOAT NECK
SERVES 4–6
This salad by itself is amazing. It’s just so fresh and cuts through any dish with a high fat content that coats the palate. The sweet and sour goat is a winner, too—try it with polenta or cooked green beans.
3 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL
2 GOAT NECKS (2 POUNDS 10 OUNCES-3 POUNDS 2 OUNCES TOTAL)
1 CARROT, CUT INTO 4 PIECES
1 ONION
2 STICKS CELERY, CUT INTO 3 PIECES EACH
5 GARLIC CLOVES, ROUGHLY CHOPPED
¼ BUNCH OF THYME
1 TEASPOON EACH OF SMOKED PAPRIKA, GROUND CUMIN, GROUND CINNAMON, GROUND CORIANDER
¼ TEASPOON GROUND CARDAMON
1¼ CUPS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
½ CUP UNREFINED LIGHT BROWN SUGAR
14 OUNOES CANNED WHOLE TOMATOES
2 TEASPOONS FINE SEA SALT
1 LARGE FENNEL OR 2 SMALL, THINLY SLICED ON A MANDOLINE
2 BALLS BUFFALO MOZZARELLA, ABOUT 4 OUNCES EACH, TORN INTO CHUNKS
½ BUNCH ITALIAN PARSLEY, LEAVES PICKED AND ROUGHLY TORN
3 TABLESPOONS ORGANIC RAW ALMONDS, SLICED
SEA SALT AND FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
PRESERVED LEMON DRESSING (SEE RECIPE)
For the braised goat neck, heat the olive oil in a 12-cup capacity saucepan over high heat, add the goat necks and sear all over until colored. Remove from the pan, turn down the heat to medium, then add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic and cook until colored. Add the thyme and spices and cook out for 3 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook until reduced by half Add the goat necks back to the pan along with the tomatoes, salt and enough water to cover the necks, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 3 hours or until the meat is tender.
For the fennel salad, the most, important thing to keep in mind is the freshness of it. You can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time (keep the shaved fennel in acidulated water), but dress the salad at the last minute.
Once the goat neck is cooked, remove the meat from the pan, pick the meat off the bones and keep warm. Pass the cooking liquid through a strainer and discard the solids. Add the picked goat meat to the sauce.
Mix all the salad ingredients, reserving a little mozzarella, parsley and almonds to garnish. Dress the salad with just enough dressing to coat and garnish with the reserved bits. Serve with the goat.
This dressing can be used for any salad leaves where you need to coat the leaves, for example butter or iceberg lettuce, but also works well mixed in couscous.
3 PRESERVED LEMONS, PEEL ONLY WITH THE WHITE PITH REMOVED
¾ CUP EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
3 TABLESPOONS CHARDONNAY VINEGAR
SALT AND PEPPER
Blitz the preserved lemon peel in a food processor, add the olive oil and vinegar, season with salt and pepper and pulse to combine. This will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.
FROZEN VANILLA SYRUP-COATED FENNEL
SERVES AS MANY AS YOU LIKE
Something that has seemed to die in restaurants over the past decade is the once-great palate cleanser served before or after mains. This would be in the form of a sherbet, salad or even a refreshing clear cold tomato soup. You could serve this as either a simple palate cleanser or you could use it as a garnish for a chocolate dessert.
¾ CUP SUPERFINE SUGAR
½ VANILLA BEAN, SPLIT AND SEEDS SCRAPED
1 MEDIUM FENNEL
To make the vanilla syrup, place the sugar, vanilla bean and seeds and ⅔ cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, then pour into a container and chill in the fridge.
Line a tray that will fit in your freezer with parchment paper. Thinly slice the fennel on a mandoline from the root to tip so you get a full cross-section of the fennel. Take the syrup out of the fridge and submerge the fennel in the vanilla syrup. Remove the fennel, shaking each slice to remove the excess syrup and place on the tray in a single layer. When the first layer is complete, lay a sheet of parchment paper on top and keep layering until all the fennel is in the tray. Place in the freezer for about 2 hours or until frozen.
When you’re ready to serve, remove from the freezer, place onto the desired plate and serve immediately. The fennel should be cold, crisp and have a taste of aniseed with a sweetened vanilla aroma.
