Fennel 4 Ways

Fennel is a highly aromatic vegetable with a flavor profile that most closely resembles black licorice. But don’t let that scare you away! Even if you don’t like black licorice, once you learn how to cook with fennel, you will fall for the mild and natural anise flavor. Fennel is an unusually shaped vegetable with a bulb on the bottom and fronds coming out of the top that make a beautiful garnish. You can also find fennel seeds in the dry spice aisle, where it is commonly used in Mediterranean as well as Indian food. In fact, in many parts of India, roasted fennel seeds are offered after the meal as a digestive and breath freshener. Fennel is crunchy and slightly sweet and can be eaten raw or cooked. To bring out the full flavor, I love roasting fennel along with other root vegetables. Fennel is low in calories, high in vitamin C and fiber and has antioxidants as well.

Here are 4 fennel recipes that you should definitely give a try:

Sautéed Fennel with Almonds has a great crunch to it. The licorice taste is not too over powering and the dried cranberries add a great tart flavor.

The grapefruit in this Fennel Grapefruit Salad adds an elegant color and, best of all, the salad comes together in minutes. Try garnishing the salad with dill or use up your fennel fronds by sprinkling them over this delicious salad.

Pasta with Roasted Fennel and Vegetarian Sausage is a must-try recipe. The vegetarian sausage paired with the fennel and Parmesan is such a great combination. Also, remember to reserve some of you pasta water to loosen up the noodles in the last step of the recipe.

Scroll to continue

More Love

This Warm Fennel Dip recipe is an updated take on warm artichoke dip. It can be made parve or, even better, you can make it dairy with lots of Parmesan cheese. Serve it piping hot with a bread, cracker or chip of your choice.

As seen in the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller Magazine