Stuffed Squash. 1/2 gallon Fennel Stock. Tomato Fennel Soup. Fennel Pesto. Toasted Fennel Au Gratin.
I came home from this week’s CSA with two massive fennel bulbs complete with long stalks and the biggest toppings of frilly fronds I’ve ever seen. This was going to take a little work, and I suspected there would be fennel in just about every meal this week. I was right on both counts, but boy did I have a blast cooking up a storm, and tucking a few treasurers in the freezer for later as well.
I did not grow up eating fennel, it just wasn’t part of our rural New England fare when I was a kid. But in my 20s, I discovered this delicious vegetable and fell promptly in love! And there’s a lot to love about it! It can be a bit finicky to grow, but every year I tuck in a dozen or so plants simply for the flowers. The flowers and pollen are the absolute tastiest part of the plant, and ‘fennel pollen’ which is actually both the flowers and the pollen, is one of the most expensive spices to buy. Luckily, like saffron, a little goes a long ways.
Every part edible
Native to southern Europe, the plant has naturalized in Northern Europe, North America, and Australia as well, and its habit of freely seeding has made it invasive in the wild in some areas. Used as both a vegetable and an herb, fennel is a member of the carrot and parsley family, every part of the plant is edible from the bulb to the flowers and pollen. Nothing is wasted. Closely related in taste to anise, its subtle licorice flavor is sweeter and milder, especially when cooked. A highly nutritious low-calorie vegetable, a cup serving yields just 27 calories, 6 grams of carbs, almost 3 g. of fiber. A good source of Vitamins C and K, folate, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, and calcium. A good source of fiber, the vegetable has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-viral effects.
Let’s toss in a little magic too
Hung over doors in medieval times to ward off evil spirits, the plant has long been used both magically and medicinally. According to American Heritage Vegetables, the plant was also hung in homes to freshen the air in closed-up rooms. It was used as an additive to gin, and the seeds chewed to sweeten the breath and ward off hunger as well as those evil spirits. A fennel tea is excellent for any number of digestive problems and heartburn, and helps to stimulate milk production in nursing mothers. Its flavonoids have been shown to help prevent cancer and reduce the risk of heart disease. So, if you think you don’t like fennel, maybe you should give it another try!
Eating seasonally
Harvest time is always a challenge to consume or otherwise store the sudden overabundance of our produce. I remember well my mother and I sitting at the table prepping green beans we had picked by the bushel basketful, or making pickles once the cucumbers all came in at once, usually about the same time we had to start making tomato sauce for canning. Blackberries needed to be frozen or made into jam. Once the frost called, we stripped those tomato plants and made flavorful green tomato mincemeat, memories I cherish. Seasonal eating at its best.
A plan
I certainly gave fennel a workout this week, and had lots of fun playing with my treasures. I started by breaking down the vegetables into the bulbs, the stems, and the feathery leaves. There were plenty of them to be had. While the fennel stems when raw are a bit too fibrous to enjoy, when chopped up and cooked they are a delightful addition to soups, stews, casseroles, frittatas, etc. They are usually tossed out along with all but a few of the fluffy foliage! The tasty fronds are easily air dried for storage all winter, and used fresh.
The execution
The bulbs I bought were not flowering or seeding, but I always have fennel seeds on hand and grow some in my garden every year. I certainly put those flavorful seeds to work this week! I chopped up my stems and saved a portion for some stuffed delicata squash the first night of cooking. I saved a few more stalks for some soup. The rest of the stalks went into a large kettle along with a big onion and a carrot and some of the fronds and this was transformed into a half-gallon of luscious stock. I dried some of the fennel fronds for use this winter, used some fresh throughout the week, and the rest I made into a batch of pesto that I will use on pasta in a day or so. I sliced up the bulb into a delicious baked au gratin dish I served along with some fish. After tucking some of the stock away, I made a quick tomato-fennel soup. There were plenty of leftovers from everything. Once my ‘fennel pollen’ is ready, I plan to try a special stuffing from my friend Terrie’s recipe at Comfort du Jour to highlight some sole. I can taste it already, even though I haven’t quite figured out the dish other than her stuffing.
Did I get tired of the fennel? Absolutely not. The flavors of each dish were distinctive and had their own character. The delicata dish was squash forward with just a hint of the fennel and delicious chewiness of the wild rice. The fennel au gratin was up front fennel, but the dominant flavor of the soup was the tomato. All very different.
A little time, a lot of reward
Nothing took a lot of time other than simmering and baking, and all the dishes could have been easily made on a Sunday afternoon. After eating like royalty this week, we still have two pints of stock, one quart of tomato soup, two stuffed squash, and pesto in the freezer for other weeks ahead.
Not bad for two bulbs of fennel, and I had a little sprig left over to place above my door. It’s always good to cover all your bases. I will post the recipes for the Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice and Fennel and Baked Fennel Au Gratin soon. Stay tuned.
Now, about all that kale…
Fennel Vegetable Stock
- Large bunch of fennel stalks and fronds and bulb trimmings, chopped
- Large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 tsp. crushed fennel seeds
- S&P
Tuck everything in a stock pot with 8-10 cups of water, or adjust if you have fewer trimmings. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for a half hour or more, correct seasoning, then let cool to room temperature. Use or freeze. Great in making rice, added to soups, or helping out with a sauce.
Tomato and Fennel Soup
This is a quick version using canned tomatoes if you have the stock made. If you have a bounty right now of fresh tomatoes, please use a quart of chopped fresh tomatoes (don’t bother to seed or peel) rather than the can of tomatoes. You will have to let it simmer a bit longer, but it will taste even better! I had some red wine open, so I tossed it in. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar instead.
- 1 large onion, small dice
- About a cup of fennel stalks, small dice
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Splash of red wine, optional
- 1 28-oz. can whole tomatoes, crushed up
- 1 quart fennel vegetable stock
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, or vegan Parmesan, optional
Sauté the onion and fennel stems in a bit of olive oil. Add the fennel seed, tomato paste, and garlic and let cook or a minute to bloom. Deglaze with the wine, cook a few more minutes, them add the tomatoes and stock.
Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let simmer for a half hour. If using fresh tomatoes, let it go a bit longer. Add the Parmesan and mix well.
Blitz everything with a hand or traditional blender or food processor until desired consistency. If you like creamed soup, add your whitener now.
Serve with some crostini with fennel pesto, or croutons, and drizzle with a bit of best olive oil.
Fennel Pesto
- Large handful of fennel fronds
- 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup Parmesan or vegan Parm
- Extra Virgin olive oil
The measurements need not be precise here. You can tuck a leaf or two of basil in as well to heighten the flavors. Put everything in the food processor and whirl it all up, adding the olive oil to your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use as you would any flavorful pesto.
I smeared this on some toast and garnished with just a touch of fennel pollen. Superb!
Coming soon…
Delicata Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice and Fennel
Baked Fennel Au Gratin
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I love fennel and some great ideas here!
Thank you! It’s one of my favorites too. I think that’s obvious!
What a wonderful vibrant homage to fennel, it’s such a versatile vegetable and I love it. It won’t grow in my garden for love nor money but I keep a plant each year just for the seeds which are a favourite to graze on as I wander round. 😊
Thanks Lis! The seeds are so delicious, and I love the image of you strollig around that beautiful garden grazing on the little treats!
I am so impressed by all of this, Dot! That image of the tomato soup with the pesto toast is enough on its own to send me swooning, but now I also am glad to know all the history and tradition around fennel. So glad to have a friend who enjoys it as much as I do, and I’m looking forward to your “coming soon” recipes! Excellent job, Fennel Queen!!!
Thanks so much Terrie! Dunking that toast in the soup was the best thing I ate this week! I just wanted more!
It was tons of fun making these dishes, and surprisingly not as much work as one might think. I was going to stuff the little squash from the farmers market with wild rice anyway, so adding the fennel stems was pretty easy and added a nice texture and very subtle flavor. More to come!
I’ve never had fennel other than dried fennel seeds, is there a difference in the taste? Just curious.
All parts of the fennel plant have that slightly licorice flavor. The seeds and flowers have the strongest flavor, the bulb in more mild, especially when cooked.
Love fennel, and these dishes bring it to it’s top. Will try the pesto soon! 🙂
Thanks Ronit! It was all so good, and all so different!
Be still my heart! What a beautiful bunch of fennel offerings. I can just imagine that soup and crostini!
Thanks Suz! That soup was so good on a chilly day. It hit all the comfort food notes, especially the little crostini!
Oh I love fennel!! And what a lot of work putting this post together. I wish I had some handy to get busy. Thank you so much!!
It ended up being a challenge to myself, and I loved everything that came of it. I doubt I’ll ever just toss those stems on the compost again!
Love all these ideas with fennel! I never know what to do wth my fennel bulbs. Love the idea of fennel stock!! And the tomato fennel soup looks divine!
Fabulous fennel recipes! I never know what to do with fennel bulbs, these are great ideas. I love the fennel broth idea! And the tomato and fennel soup looks divine!
Thank you! I set a challenge for myself not to waste all that vegetable matter, and I think I succeeded in coming up with some good ideas that didn’t overwhelm us!
I love fennel, raw, cooked, braised yet I’ve never tried fennel stock. Sound wonderful and it is on my list to make this week. Thank you!
Thank you! It’s a great starting point for so much., with that lovely flavor.
Without a doubt, you create the healthiest recipes around. Looks delicious.
Thanks Judy! It was fun putting this all together.
Fennel is sublime. My favourite was just to have it roasted.
Roasted fennel is one of my favorites, too! So sweet and delicious.
Emptied the greenhouse of tomatoes and capsicums, roasted them with garlic, then pressed the whole lot through a food mill. Managed to get about 750ml of lovely, sweet passata. That tomato soup looks delicious. I often add some crumbled blue cheese to my tomato soup.
Good work Misky! I don’t know what I’d do without my food mill! The original, and most efficient, food processor.
The blue cheese sounds wonderful in the tomato soup. I know it must be good because I make a broiled tomato topped with blue cheese and breadcrumbs and it’s out of this world.
Those tomatoes are so sweet that you’d swear I tossed in a load of sugar!
This is the best tomato time!
Some great ideas. I like how you make use of all parts of the plant and nothing goes to waste.
Thanks Kevin. That was the main thought about this post. There was so much besides the bulb, I had to use it, and delightfully so!
Great post! I rarely cook with fennel, but there are so many great ideas here that I’ll just have to whip up some soup and fennel pesto–yum!!!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Especially that crostini dunked in the soup!
Thank you for these recipes. I love fennel and especially like that every part is edible!
Don’t you just love a vegetable that gives all? There’s so much to appreciate here.
Wow! I love fennel as most here but, it seems, have been totally unimaginative using it. Thank you for all you have put down here and for what is to come . . . I would never ever have thought of the stock or the pesto!!!Want to try cook rice in that stock first of all . . . after I have told a lot of friends . . . yippee . . . !
Enjoy all that fennel goodness!!!
I haven’t used fennel much in any recipes, but I want to try the Tomato and Fennel Soup and Fennel Pesto sometime! They both look delicious! 🙂
Thanks Nancy! They were quite tasty! Enjoy!
All these ways to use Fennel sounds yummy! It is a vegetable not commonly seen in the veggie section at the supermarket so I might have to try to grow some myself. I like the sounds of the Tomato and fennel soup the best but will definitely keep it in mind for bolstering casseroles too. Thanks, Dorothy.
Don’t forget those lovely stems!
Woohoo! I love fennel. Such a lot of tasty ways to use it. Thanks!
Thanks Laurie! It’s definitely an underused vegetable, especially the extra parts!
I have never been a fennel fan, but, now might be the opportunity to take another taste of this strange vegetable. These recipes look rather edible! Hugs, C
Thank you Cheryl! It’s always worth another try!
Fresh Fennel is truly wholesome. You’ve spelled out the nutrients well. I have only experienced the taste of Fennel as a dried herb.🤗
Ah, then you are in for a treat!
You have written a true ode to fennel! I rarely cook with it, but it is a wonderful ingredient. Thanks for all the various ways to use and enjoy it!
Thanks Jenna! I really hate to see all the beautiful stems and fronds sent to the compost when they can become wonderful ingredients on their own.
What wonderful ideas! The stuffed Delicata Squash looks amazing, along with the au gratin. Mmmmm!
And I applaud you, as this was a lot of hard work to put this post together!
Happy October!
Thank you! The post was longer than usual, but I thought it was important to go through the steps, none of which were difficult or too time consuming.
We thank you!
💕🩷💕
I never thought about using fennel for stock, what a great idea Dorothy!
Waste not!
Thanks for the gentle reminder to use some fennel again – soon!
It’s so good, and good for you!
I loooove fennel. Send me some! 🍂🌿
Don’t worry! I have plenty, here you go…
👏👏👏
Wonderful fennel dishes! Your mom would be so proud of how you made use of this seasonal ingredient xx
Thanks Christy! That’s one of the nicest things anyone could say to me!
My favorite use of fennel is a sheet pan dinner with shallots, bone in chicken thighs, red pepper slices, lemon and fennel. At the end you stir in arugula. It is a terrific and easy supper. Now what do you do with kohlrabi?(my latest CSA produce)
I love kohlrabi, and I just pick up a big, beautiful purple one yesterday at my csa. It is destined to be sliced up for our stir-fry, tossed in just for a bit at the end so it stays crispy like a water chestnut. I also love it raw with a flavorful dip. It’s good roasted too!
Thanks. I like the idea of tossing it into the stir fry, especially since we also got bok choy.
Perfect!!
I wouldn’t get tired of the fennel either and you sure made good use of the two fennel bulbs.
The first time I had fennel was in my early twenties. I had a little herb garden and I was curious about fennel, so I grew some. It is a beautiful plant. My fennel was discovered by black swallowtail butterflies and I had their caterpillars eating the fennel. Since I love black swallowtail butterflies, I just left the caterpillars alone. We (Bruce, my two year old daughter, and I) got to watch an black swallowtail butterfly emerge from its chrysalis that was attached to a fennel stem. I was still able to try out the fennel bulbs later in the year. I love roasted fennel and thin fennel slices in salad.
Oh, what beautiful memories Julia! I know they love flowers that are flattish.
So we get to share with nature and enjoy the bulbs later!
What to do with all that fennel? Send it over here 😋 but if you send these ready to be enjoyed delicacies, I don’t mind either 😉
How about I just invite you to dinner?
That sounds good too 😉😋