The Italian name for fennel is much merrier than the English. Finocchio, which rhymes with Pinocchio. It’s hard even to say the word without being tempted to belt it out, opera buffa style, to a chorus of Funiculi, Funiculà – that most famous ode to a cable car. Side note: fennel is not anise. 

Language aside, here’s a vegetable that has been cultivated throughout Europe, India and the Middle East just about forever. But unless you were raised in an Italian family, fennel may have caught your attention only recently, if at all. 

Like celery and cabbage, fennel grows in thick, dense layers. Much smaller than most cabbages, it has a bulbous base and long hollow stalks that jut out like the fingers of a never-worn glove. Generally, the stalks don’t go into dishes, although they can be frozen and later used to flavor soups and stews. The tips of each stalk are fringed by a dense conflagration of wispy green fronds that are good for adornment. While every part of the fennel, from base to tip (including its seed) is edible, the most prized is the bulb.  

We tend to describe flavors by comparison (“tastes like chicken!”) but words simply cannot describe the complexity of tastes and aromas. So it’s not entirely without basis that fennel gets lumped with anise, which we associate with licorice.  But with its bright, lively  taste, there’s nothing licorice-y about fennel. In fact, you can detest licorice and still adore fennel. 

With its crisp texture and subtle flavor, raw fennel makes an excellent dip picker-upper and pretty addition to a crudité platter. Unlike carrot and celery, no peeling or de-stringing is required. You can slice a fennel bulb and lay it out in about 30 seconds. 

Raw fennel adds happiness and crunch to many salads—complementing deep greens, citrus, goat cheese, cranberries, shallots and nuts. Recently I’ve been making a shaved fennel, pear, and beet salad using my new favorite kitchen tool, a Benriner mandoline (above, from Amazon).  

Amenable to sautéing, braising, and roasting, fennel also makes a particularly creamy risotto. Try roasting a salmon fillet, skin side down, over a bed of thinly sliced leek and fennel. The two vegetables, one earthy and the other hinting at sweet, are supremely compatible. Braised leeks and fennel are a great side dish, too.   

For bouillabaisse or the Italian fish stew cioppino, fennel is a must, used in equal ratio of onion and leek. Once you get comfortable with this  versatile bulb, you’ll find it your new best vegetable. 

And if anyone sees you chopping and asks, “What’s that?” just sing it out: “Finocchio.”  Really, who could resist?

Cioppino – Italian Fish Stew  

This is sometimes called an “Italian American” fish stew, because of its mid-19th century origins of Italian immigrant fishermen making it from the leftovers of their daily catch. But as a catch-al recipe, every city, town, village and probably home along the coastline of the boot surely has versions that vary by the season, month, and day. 

For this reason, I’d say just have fun with this dish.  Use the fish (okay, white fish) and shellfish that make you happy. Feel like impressing your friends? Add lobster. Allergic to shellfish? Leave it out. The same goes for amounts of, say, garlic and choice of herbs. Consider my list only a suggestion. This recipe makes plenty with leftovers you can reheat the following day.

Ingredients

• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small bulb fennel, chopped
• 1/4 cup leek, thinly sliced
• 10 fat cloves garlic, chopped
• 8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1 T tomato paste
• Zest of one orange
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• small handful of fresh tarragon, not chopped
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 2 cups fish stock (see note) 
• Salt and freshy ground pepper 
• 1 lb. white fish, such as haddock, sole, pollock, or cod, cut into 2″ chunks
• 12 hard-shelled clams (top necks or littlenecks) 
• 2 lbs. mussels
• 8 large shrimp
  

Directions

1. In a large pot, sweat (over a low flame) the onions, fennel, and leek in the olive oil about 5 minutes or more. When the vegetables are soft, add the garlic and continue to sweat until they’re soft, too.  
2. Add the chopped tomato, tomato paste, orange zest, and parsley. Cook, stirring, for about a minute. 
3. Add the white wine, bring to a boil, lower heat and cook 3 minutes. Add fish stock, salt and pepper and bring temperature up to a slow boil. 
4. Add the fish first. Cook until it turns opaque and firm, them remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. 
5. Add the clams and cook until they have just opened. Remove and place in bowl with fish. (Doing this prevents the fish and shellfish, which take different amounts of time to cook, from overcooking and becoming rubbery.
6. Do the same with the mussels. Add the shrimp last. As soon as they curl and turn opaque, Then dump the reserved fish and shellfish into the pot along with the fresh tarragon. Let everything get hot again.  
7. Serve in bowls with slices of country bread or baguette, toasted stovetop in a little olive oil. 

Note: Fish stock

Lobster stock
I’m lucky to have a fishmonger that sells a lot of cooked lobster meat (for about $70/lb.) and puts cooked bodies out on ice for 59 cents a pound. When I see them, I’ll buy three or four and put them in a pot with some olive oil, sliced onion, and sliced  carrot, and smash them down, over medium heat, with a potato masher. Once the shells are cracked and flattened and I see the oil turning red, I add a couple of cups of water.  After simmering for no more than 10 minutes, I strain the stock into an ice cube tray or two. Once it’s frozen, I remove the cubes and store them, frozen, in a plastic bag. 

Shrimp stock
If you don’t have access to lobster bodies, shrimp shells and heads (my preferred way of buying shrimp is head-on) make a wonderful stock (that can be mixed with lobster stock and even bottled clam juice). After cleaning shrimp, I simply toss the shells into a small pot, add water to barely cover, and cook for five minutes. 

Frozen fish stock and bottled clam juice

All good. Not everyone wants to spend time cleaning shrimp or smashing lobster bodies. 

Shaved fennel, pear, and beet salad 

• 1 bulb fennel
• 1 medium size beet, red or golden
• 1-2 firm bosc pears 
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 T vinaigrette 
• a small handful of fresh mint

Make a dressing using salt, pepper, your favorite vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil. Slice as thinly as possible (mandoline makes this easy) one bulb fennel, a medium sized beet, and 2 firm bosc pears. In one bowl, sprinkle the lemon juice over the pears and fennel. In another, dress the beets an hour or more in advance of your meal. When you’re ready to serve, lightly toss the vegetables together with salt and pepper, topping with the fresh mint.   

Braised fennel and leeks with crunchy breadcrumb topping

• 1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
• 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced in 3″ lengths
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs or panko
• 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup (or more) grated Parmesan cheese. 

Preheat oven to 400°.  Place the sliced fennel and leek in a large pan. Cover with cream, add salt and pepper and cook over low-medium heat until somewhat soft. (Stir frequently to prevent burning.)  Transfer the mixture to an oven-proof casserole and top with a mix of the breadcrumbs or panko, olive oil, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes until topping is golden and crunchy.  

Photos by Carolyn Swartz

As an Amazon Associate Woman Around Town earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you for supporting Woman Around Town.