So I'm out in the garden yesterday, in tank top and flip flops on a record-heat day yet again, and I notice a row of little lacy leaves, clearly planted by me intentionally, at some point that I don't remember.
"Dill?" I say, wondering why I would have planted dill over there, so far from the herb beds. I nibble the leaves. Not dill. A slight licorice flavor.
""Fennel!" I realize. I have a vague memory of planting it. Since I don't write down what I've planted or mark the spots with little sticks with seed names on them, it is always a bit of a surprise to me to see what happens out there.
I've never grown fennel before, but a little research leads me immediately to . . . you guessed it . . . Pliny the Elder!
Pliny says that snakes eat fennel after they shed their skins in order to restore their sight. Other medicinal properties attributed to fennel include (supposedly) its ability to relieve gastrointestinal pain, to stimulate milk production in nursing mothers, and to suppress hunger. There is talk about hallucinations in high doses, however, so as with much that's good in life, it is recommended that you use caution and moderation (and, disclaimer, disclaimer! Nothing I say can count as medical advice!).
Cooks love the stuff. You can use all parts of the plant--the roots, the leaves and the seed. It apparently pairs perfectly with fish, is delicious served raw in salads, and is used commonly by many cultures as a flavoring in breads and other baked goods and confections.
I wonder if I need to cover it, if it should really be growing right now in December in Zone 7-pushing-8 (I mean, it will get cold at some point, won't it?). I think I'll build a little row cover/hoop house/cold frame thing out of wire clothes hangers and cover it with my bioterrorism plastic sheeting (I have an enormous roll of it that I bought on 9/12/2001 and I've been using it in lots of innovative ways ever since). A fennel kennel, so to speak.
And so I wonder. What other seeds are waiting right below the surface of the soil, and the surface of daily life, for just the right conditions to grow? What other surprises await, both in the garden--and beyond?
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Although my husband's name (Finocharo, though originally Finocchiaro) means 'fennel-farmer' I've only cooked once with the fresh vegetable. It wasn't a huge success. I should try again, if only for the sake of the name.
Your fennel might be just fine where it is, Pattie. Up here in the great white north I plant it in late July and it is ready to go from late Oct-Thanksgiving. It really gets big and bulby when it is cold. But it will probably bolt on you if you wait until spring to eat it. But if you think it needs a kennel...go for it.
Thanks, El, I think I'll just leave it alone (wouldn't we all love to be left alone for just a little awhile?!). And I'm afraid it might ALREADY be spring here.
And who has a recipe for Valereee and me?
Beautiful in risotto / or bake in a casserole dish with a lid with some olive oil, lemon juice and whole cloves of garlic / or slice very thinly and sprinkle generously over any salad.Fennel is one of my favourite vegetables to grow and to eat. Here I sow it in Feb and eat all winter. If you have space in your garden cut the bulbs off at ground level instead of pulling them out and they will regrow and go to seed so you can collect the seeds to eat too. Then next year it will regrow more bulbs.A very satisfactory plant and the bees love it.
P and V: Salad is the main way we eat it here as its anise-y taste is not to my tastebud-challenged husband's liking. So I chop it up with bosc pears, lately, and a touch of salt. Otherwise, I love it halved and coated with olive oil on the grill, or caramelized in a hot cast-iron pan. I've only got five big ones left (sniff) until I can plant them again in the greenhouse in Feb., so they're pretty precious.
Oh and the fronds and the seeds (as Kate mentioned) are wonderful.
Saute some onions, garlic and finely sliced fennel bulb in some olive oil add some bottled tomato puree or fresh tomatoes, add some oregano, parsley, maybe some olives and a little white wine, simmer gently until the fennel is soft.Make a lot it gets better as it stands, serve hot or cold. Yum!
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