My first fennel bulb

[eridani]

Another Moosewood Restaurant recipe, and I've never used this stuff before--just seeds. The instructions call for dicing the bulb, but what about the rest of the plant? Are the stalks and fern-type leaves useful for anything? Dry them? Freeze them?

[Stinky The Clown]

1. We eat fennel like celery

It is a great digestive aid.

But it is also good cooked. I grill it.

No, we discard the ferny leaves and upper stems.

[eleny]

2. eat it just plain or with creamed cheese and paprika and like that?

[Stinky The Clown]

5. Just plain

All by its lonesome .... just nice and cold.

It has a lovely licorice-like flavor.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. I love fennel! I like to cut it in half and grill it, or slice it thin with onions and saute it,

or chop it into cubes and put it in seafood chowder. Really good with seafood. Esp. shrimp and salmon.

I also have a wonderful French recipe that calls for cutting them in half (vertically, on the same plane as the stalks), pan frying them in olive oil face down to brown them, then adding some wine and as many garlic cloves as you like, and then braising them for about an hour. Meltingly tender and wonderful.

Mmmmmm.... dreamy.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. The leaves are great in a seafood soup.

Mince the leaves and add at the same time as the last fish/shellfish ingredient. Less is better because the fennel flavor can overwhelm the other flavors.

I braise the stalks same as celery--give them a peel first, or throw them in the pan unpeeled to add flavor to braised meats or other vegetables and discard them when the dish is done.

Never tried freezing any part of a fresh bulb.

[eridani]

6. Oops--too late!

I'll remember that for next time, though. The chopped bulb went nicely with the salmnon.