Fabulous fennel 19 June 2006

What is that strange-looking thing? Is it an onion? Or a leek? If you hail from the Philippines, this is a quite an odd vegetable to come across.

 

This is fennel. Fennel has a hard time growing here and usually ends up with just stalks. But it’s the bulb that makes the best salads. You may be familiar with fennel seeds which is also widely used in Indian cooking.

Anyway, we came across this fennel bulb (100+ pesos) at our favorite deli Santi’s, imported from Australia. Recognizing it from our evenings with Jamie Oliver (on TV and his cookbook), we snatched it up, wondering what the fuss was with this humble looking veggie. And so we flipped through the pages of the Naked Chef and whipped up our simplified version of fennel salad. Jamie’s dish calls for radishes. I think that even some tomatoes would be good with this.

 

 

All you need to do is cut up the bulb, the stalks and even the leaves very very thinly. Then drizzle lemon juice, olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Amazingly simple.

Ah, but the taste! The fennel bulb has the consistency of raw cabbage leaves. But that’s where all comparisons end. If you are familiar with the flavor of green mango salad, this is a much subtler take. It’s refreshing with a slight tang, and it has a hint of peppermint, enhanced by the lemon juice. I could actually eat the fennel alone, which is like eating extremely mild breath mints. The crunch is also a great accompaniment to a grilled meat or fish dish.

Go, go try it. It was our first time to try it and we’re fast fennel fans now!