Now, I know this post is really about the bulbs, but I couldn't resist an idea that uses some fennel seed, now that summer will quickly be upon us. What you want is an even mix of fennel seed and coriander seed, and grind them together coarsely. Coriander seed has a lemony flavor, and the combo produced by mixing it with the slight anise flavor form the fennel is sweet and uplifting.
This mixture is used to dip one side of a one-inch square sandwich in, so one side of this little finger food is covered in the fennel/coriander powder. The sandwich is made of two 1" x 1" squares 1/4" to 1/2" thick pieces of watermelon on either side of the same sized piece of block feta cheese. Perfect for an appetizer or snack on a hot summer day, these little sandwiches are awesome. (The scrap watermelon is pretty awesome too.)
So, the bulbs are versatile once you have some idea what to do. Starting with the large bulbs, you can cut them in half, core them, since the core is tough and no fun to chew on, and you can roast them. Fennel bulb roasted like this exudes a sweetness (from the caramelization of its sugars) that compliments the light licorice flavor. The outer layer might need to be strafed with a peeler before roasting, as that toughness associated with that outer layer becomes really tough after a roasting.
We've been getting the fennel bulbs in our farm delivery each week for a while now, and they come with the fronds still attached. The fronds are good for stocks, but even better for fumee, the light fish broth. To stocks they add some definite character.
I've been dicing the bulbs like onions and adding them to sauces, and this is one of the great things to do with them: using them diced for a shrimp stock. Not everybody is down for this, but if you have the scraps, like shrimp husks, you can make a broth and then add your vegetables (like mirepoix and fennel) and make either a sauce for pasta or rice, or just a flavorful soup. Maybe I'll do that in a little bit.
If you slice the bulbs thin, they make a great addition to a lettuce salad, and if you shave the fennel, with either a mandolin or a peeler, you get something else entirely. This is what I like to do with them. Thinner than paper shavings of fennel in a bowl, mixed with thinly sliced strawberries and some bitter greens like treviso or arugula, and you've got yourself a winner.
Here it is without the greens yet. I use a peeler instead of a mandolin because I don't have a mandolin. A mandolin in the kitchen is a plastic rectangle with a blade set diagonally in the middle. It is the same tool I sliced the tip of my finer off with back when I was a kid. In the professional kitchens cooks have a love/hate relationship with the little bastards. They're mean, they bite, they have bad attitudes, but they do things it would take you far longer to accomplish without them, and for that, they're indispensable.
Dressed with salt and pepper and some extra virgin, all you need is a fruity vinegar like apple cider or red wine, but champagne vinegar might be best (but who has that just chillin' in their cupboard?). Make sure you cut the acidity of the vinegar with your kosher salt. Get a bowl, put your vinegar into it, and put in a pinch or two of salt. Mix it in until it dissolves, and taste it. It won't be salty, it'll just be flavorful without that biting acidity.
It makes a refreshing little side dish to any meal, full of flavor and fiber and vitamins.
The more expensive bulb, the baby bulbs, are a little more exotic, and I have one recipe for them that, if done properly, is so awesome that you almost can't stop eating them, and they're only a garnish. They'll get their own post in a bit. They deserve it.
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