Fennel
Cooking Tips
- Peel the stems and add to stir fries and soups to remove their stringy texture.
- Use the dill-like leaves, which have a strong anise flavor, as a garish for chicken, fish and soups.
- The bulbs can be braised, stewed, roasted, sautéed, simmered in soups, curries and sauces, or served raw. Or slice thin and top burgers or salmon.
Details
Fennel is one of those vegetables (or is it an herb?) that is a little intimidating. It’s pretty to look at, but few know what to do with it. Well, to clear up the first question, it’s both a veggie (bulbs and stems) and an herb (leaves). Secondly, fennel is often used in French cooking, and among herbalists fennel is touted as a digestive aid, vision enhancer, nerve calmer, cough suppressant and a lung and sinus decongestant. Its taste is a combination of licorice and anise, which may explain most people’s love/hate relationship with fennel.
Look for bulbs that are clean, firm and solid, and it should have a faint smell of licorice. Read more about fennel in this Cooking Fresh article, "Eater, Meet Fennel," by Dani Lind.
Nutrition: Fennel is not greatly nutrient dense, but a 1 cup serving has 17 percent daily value of vitamin C and 10 percent daily value of dietary fiber and potassium. It is a very low calorie food.
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