Recipes

Fennel sicilian (see bottom of page)

This small seed-like fruit of a plant of the parsley family has flavour similar to liquorice

The seed is used in sweet pickles, fish dishes , sweets, pastry, on rolls and breads. Try a dash of the seed in apple pie.

Note : The vegetable fennel resembles celery but smells and tastes more like anise. The bulbous white root may be eaten raw and sliced in salad, or cooked like celery and eaten as a vegetable. Also known as finnacchio or Florence fennel

Preparation

• Scrape the bulb. Cut bulb and stalk into 1inch slices.
• Cooking time 15 to 20 minutes

Serving: Serve hot season with salt, pepper, melted butter or margarine, and fresh lemon juice.

Cooking: Cook, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water 15 to 20 minutes, or just tender.

Server raw: serve like celery. Cut heads in quarters or eighths, or scrape the bulb, slice thin and use in salads.

Fennel sicilian

• 3 roots fennel
• 2table spoons oil
• ½ small onion, finely chopped
• ½ clove garlic
• salt, black pepper
• ¼ pint chicken stock
• 2-3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Wash and trim the fennel and cut into quarters. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, add the onion and sauté for five minutes. Add the crushed garlic and fennel and sauté for a further ten minutes, shaking the pan frequently. Add a little salt and pepper and the stock, cover and cook over low heat for about fifteen minutes or until tender. Sprinkle with the cheese and brown under a hot grill.