Vegetable
Fennel
HinojoFonollFoeniculum vulgare
It tastes of aniseed, and that splits families. Raw and thinly sliced it's crunchier than almost anything; roasted it turns sweet and mellow, and even the other side starts to waver.
When
Around: Oct–Apr · At its best: Nov–Feb
Around: Oct–Apr · At its best: Nov–Feb
Around: Apr–Oct · At its best: May–Aug
Around here
In Catalonia wild fonoll grows on verges and field edges, and its stalks and seeds are used to cure olives. The market one is different: the fat white bulb of garden fennel, eaten as a vegetable.
At the market
- White, firm, heavy bulb; plump and rounded tends to be more tender than flat and long.
- No brown marks, and no dry or split outer layers.
- If it still has its feathery fronds, they should be green and perky.
- Smell it: it should smell of fresh aniseed.
At home
- In the fridge, in a bag or a tub: it keeps for a week.
- Cut off the stalks and fronds and keep them separately; they're good for stock and dressings.
- Once cut it browns: a few drops of lemon and into a tub.
If you have too much
- Blanched for a few minutes, cooled and frozen in wedges, for roasting or braising.
- The fronds, chopped with oil in ice-cube trays, or dried for fish.
- Pickled in slices with vinegar, lemon and pepper.
- The tough stalks, into fish or vegetable stock.
In the kitchen
- Raw, shaved paper-thin with orange, olives and oil.
- Roasted in wedges with oil and salt until it caramelises.
- As a bed for baked fish, with lemon.
- Gratinated with cheese after a quick boil.
- In a salad with roast beetroot and mandarin.
- In a soup with potato and leek.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 31 kcal
- Water
- 90% water
- Carbs
- 7.3 g
- Sugars
- 3.9 g
- Fibre
- 3.1 g
- Protein
- 1.2 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin K62.8 µg · 84% of what you need in a day
- Source of potassium414 mg · 21% of what you need in a day
- Source of vitamin C12 mg · 15% of what you need in a day
- Source of fibre3.1 g
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- OrangeNov–MayOranges don't ripen once picked: what you buy is what you get. So it pays to know how to choose them.
- BeetrootOct–AprIt stains everything it touches, chopping board and pride included. But roasted, it turns sweeter than almost any vegetable.
- LeekOct–MarAn onion that never forms a bulb and tastes milder. The white part comes from earthing it up as it grows: the higher the soil, the longer the white.