Friday Feature: Fennel

When I first encountered Fennel, it was like meeting someone at a party and discovering we didn’t speak the same language.  There was a little awkward smiling and nodding and then, with nothing left to say, we moved on.

The next year when Fennel came around again, I had the good fortune to have an interpreter at hand.  Eric, the grower at Taylor Mountain Gardens, who is a close friend of Fennel, made the formal introductions–and this time we clicked.

I have since discovered this odd-looking vegetable with its bulbous white root and frothy fern-like top to be quite a versatile addition to the dinner scene.  Eaten raw it has a slight licorice flavor and sweet crunchy bite.  For more information and lots of good recipes check the Mariquita Farm website.

Try if fresh in a salad.

Using the bulb, it makes a terrific slaw and is a nice addition to salad.  I ran this fennel over my mandoline slicer, which is a useful tool to finely shred or julienne vegetables, to make this green salad.

Try it hot out of the oven.

This multi-purpose vegetable is also delicious cooked.  Here is my favorite recipe for roasting it adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

• fennel bulbs
• butter
• coarse salt
• grated Parmesan cheese
• fresh ground pepper
• sprigs of thyme

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Chop off the fennel’s green top, and slice the bulb in half lengthways.

Boil for 10-15 minutes in salted water.

Pull from water with slotted spoon and drain on tea towel, cut side down.

Place in buttered baking dish, cut side up, and brush with melted butter.  Sprinkle top with coarse salt and enough Parmesan cheese to cover.  Grind on pepper.  Top with sprig of thyme.

Place in oven and bake for approximately 25 minutes until top is golden brown.

Fennel is also a good source of Niacin, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Folate, Potassium and Manganese.

Make a friend out of fennel and have a great weekend!

 

 

Advertisement

Make or Buy: Salad Dressing

Speaking of saving money…

We eat a lot of salad with dinner.  It seems to be one of those dinner staples.  Everything else changes or rotates–with the exception of salad.

Oh, to be sure, depending on what’s in season, the type of salad changes.  Greek salad and caprese salads are popular in late summer.  Grain salad with roasted vegetables is a nice change of pace in fall and winter.  But green salad is the mainstay.

But the way to make a green salad really enjoyable–even night after night–is great salad dressing.  And the best salad dressing will even save you money.  That’s because the only dressing worth eating is composed of mostly what you already have in your kitchen cupboards.

That’s the catch.  You have to make it.

But once you get into the habit of making it, you’ll never look back.

Especially when you can whip up a batch that will last all week and will taste better than anything you can buy.

Here’s my favorite vinaigrette dressing, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vinegar, use your favorite
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• lots of fresh ground pepper
• Pinch of sugar
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or more to taste if it’s too acidic for you)
• clove of garlic, put through a garlic press

Place all ingredients into bottle/container and shake well.

There’s tons of flexibility with vinaigrette.  Change up the type of vinegar or oil.  Add fresh herbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic or other ingredients and you will never tire of your salad dressing.

For a large family sized salad:

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• lots of freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients into bottle/container and shake well.

Any container will do or you can buy one like this with easy measurement guidelines and instructions for several different dressings:

And the internet can provide you with endless variations on dressings to experiment with.  If you’ve ever whisked an egg white or shaken a can of whipping cream (whoops, another item to make at home!), you can certainly make salad dressing.  It’s simple, delicious, and easy on the wallet.  

Definitely make.  You won’t be disappointed. 

What are your favorite salad dressings?