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What Is Fennel & How Do You Use It?

ingredients vegan cooking vegan pantry Apr 01, 2021
How To Cook With Fennel

Fennel probably isn’t a vegetable you’ve used often, if ever. If you’re like most people, you might have even thought it was a vegetable that only fancy trained chefs use in their tartines and gourmet salads.

But guess what? That’s not true. From the trained chef to the amateur cook, fennel deserves a place in everyone’s kitchen. 

It’s a bit funky-looking but don’t let that intimidate you; fennel is easy to work with. In the kitchen, it can be an herb, a spice, or a vegetable, making it extremely versatile. 

Not only can it be used in different ways in a variety of dishes, but it also has impressive health benefits.

Let’s explore….

What is Fennel? 

A part of the carrot family, fennel originated in the southern Mediterranean region (Israel, Egypt, and Lebanon, amongst others) and now grows throughout many parts of the world. It can be found growing wild and in cultivated fields in Asia, North America, and Europe. The plant was well known to the ancient Egyptians, Romans, Indians, and Chinese, and today, the seeds and bulbs are commonly used in dishes from these parts of the world.

Fennel is green and white with a base of long stalks that weave together to form a thick bulb that grows above ground. At the tip of the stalk are light, feathery leaves that look a bit like dill. 

When fennel goes to seed, it produces small yellow flowers among the leaves. Fennel has a fresh licorice flavor, stronger when eaten raw and milder, yet still aromatic, when cooked.

 

How to Use Fennel

From the flower to the bulb, every bit of the fennel you bring home from the store is edible and can be used in different ways. If you enjoy the more robust anise flavor, the bulb can be sliced and eaten raw with just a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper. 

When oven-roasted or sauteed in a pan, fennel’s flavor becomes slightly milder and sweet with a tender, melty texture. Don’t be afraid to let it brown up and get crispy around the edges; the caramelized bits are delicious! Cooked fennel can be put into pasta, served over mashed potatoes, or added to a salad.

Fennel fronds don’t hold up well to long cooking. Think of them as an herb, just like dill or tarragon. The fronds can be chopped and added into pestos, vinaigrettes or curries. 

They can also be sprinkled over the top of a finished pasta or salad dish as a garnish and for an additional licorice-flavor hit. The stalks of fennel can be used in vegetable stocks, along with other discarded bits of vegetables you’ve been using in the kitchen. 

The fennel stalks will add a sweet undertone to the broth. They can also be used in place of celery in soups and stews as they have a similar body and texture.

Here are a few recipes you could try. All of them are easy, quick, and delicious.

Fennel Pasta In Creamy Miso Sauce-Lazy Cat Kitchen

Grapefruit Fennel Avocado Salad-Feasting at Home

Roasted Fennel Potato Soup-Simple Veganista

Health Benefits of Fennel

Fennel has heaps of health benefits. 

It’s low in calories but high in dietary fiber, which promotes a healthy gut biome. Fennel contains potassium which is crucial in maintaining low blood pressure, and it’s loaded with vitamin C. 

Nutritional value of fennel

100 g of fresh fennel have:

  • 25 kcal
  • 0.3 g fat
  • 2.8 g carbohydrates
  • 4.2 g fiber 

On top of that, 100 g of fresh fennel contain:

  • 783 mcg of Vitamin A (87% of RDA*)
  • 230 mcg of Vitamin B1 (21 % of RDA)
  • 93 mg of Vitamin C (93 % of RDA)
  • 6 mg of Vitamin E (43 % of RDA)
  • 2.7 mg of Iron (22 % of RDA)
  • 494 mg of potassium (12% of RDA)
  • 49 mg of magnesium (14% of RDA)
  • 109 mg of calcium (11% of RDA)

*RDA = recommended dietary allowance

Not only is vitamin C critical for a healthy immune system, but it also plays an essential role in tissue repair and cellular synthesis, protecting your body from free radicals. Pretty much what all that means is that because of its vitamin C content, fennel can help you maintain healthy skin, which acts as a strong barrier to all those nasty pollutants surrounding us daily. 

On top of that, fennel is a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Vitamin A is important for maintaining healthy vision and eyesight, while Vitamin E is an essential antioxidant that protects your body from free radicals.  

Fennel also contains a variety of other minerals like magnesium and calcium, which are vital to bone health. To summarize: fennel is loaded with nutrients that are essential for a healthy diet. 

Fennel is versatile, easy to use, and healthy. So really, unless you’re just absolutely not a fan of that licorice flavor, you should be heading to the store to buy some now. 

Check the internet, play with recipes, have fun in the kitchen! Who knows what yummy fennel dishes you might discover that become a part of your weekly repertoire.

 

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