Cooking Tips
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Substitute for
celery in traditional recipes.
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Try cutting
bulbs into quarters, drizzle with oil or butter, and bake for about 30-35.
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Sauté with zucchini,
tomatoes, bell pepper, thyme and some salt.
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Steam fennel and
chill it along with other vegetables; dress with a spoonful of lemon juice,
olive oil, chopped chives or green onion, finish with salt and fresh herbs if
desired.
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Cut raw fennel
into slices for dipping. Try dipping with a bowl of olive oil with salt and herbs.
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Use feathery
leaves as a fresh herb for seasoning. Try using it in place of dill. Excellent
on baked or broiled fish with butter and lemon.
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Italians use
fennel as part of an antipasto platter or for desert along with soft goat
cheese.
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Add to soups,
pureed or chopped. Slices can be sautéed first to lock in flavors.
Storage
Tips-
Featured
Recipes-
Mixed
Greens and Fennel with Ginger Dressing
1 bag of fresh
spinach or mixed salad greens
2 fennel bulbs (cleaned, cut in half lengthwise, and sliced thinly crosswise)
For the dressing:
2 scallions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons oriental sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped, peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup oil
Blend first seven dressing ingredients in food processor. With machine running,
gradually add oil and process until well blended. (Can be
prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand 30 minutes
at room temperature before using.)
Toss fennel and greens with dressing. Enjoy!
Melt 2 tbs. butter in heavy large pot over
medium heat. Add 2 c. fresh onions and 1 sliced fennel bulb and
sauté until onions are translucent,. Add 8 c.
chicken broth and 1 quart diced potatoes and bring to
boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer soup until potatoes are very tender,
about 25 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return to same
pot. Rewarm soup if necessary. Season
with salt. Ladle soup into bowls; garnish with reserved fronds and serve.
Cucumber and Fennel Chilled Summer Soup
Here are the ingredients used, but not in exact
amounts as this soup is prepared by doing multiple batches in the food
processor and this often is done by taste and eye. All batches after blending
or then poured out into a large bowl to be stirred, served, and or cold
stored.
The approximate amount for one small batch that would serve
2 small portions is listed. If you are planning on serving more than 2
small portions then you can just make multiple batches. Ideally have your
cucumbers and fennel already chilled, which is normal as these are kept in the
fridge generally.
1-2 cucumbers depending on size
(skin, seed, and all) Cut into very large chunks. {(I have used green finger cukes,
which gives the soup nice green speckles and then I did one by using the Poona Kheera and Crystal Apple Cucumbers, which gave the soup
golden specks)}
1/2 of a Fennel Bulb and 1/2 of the stem and Fronds
1/4 of an apple
1/2 cup of lime basil leaves (chop a few leaves
yourself and set aside for garnish)
Heavy Splashings of White
Wine Vinegar
4 Very Very large spoon fulls of
~1/2- 1 T of honey
~1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (have a few more sunflower
seeds to sprinkle over the top of the soup as a garnish)
1-2 T of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
sprinkling of nutmeg and cinnamon
After all the above is in the processor you should let
them blend for a while to get the batch into a thin liquidy
mixture. If you feel as if your batch is to thick then try adding more
vinegar, yogurt, and/or olive oil till it is pleasing to your desired thickness
and taste.
Chill and serve. - Arugula's
Star of Neal Family Farms