How To Prep Fennel

Learning How To Prep Fennel is very simple and quite easy to accomplish. Fennel makes a wonderful side dish, and can be prepared to cook fast or long depending upon your dish.

Taste and Texture

Florence fennel is the most common type, found in most grocery stores today. Fennel is a lot like celery in its looks and texture. It has a taste that resembles mild licorice and slight anise.

How to Choose

When choosing fennel at the grocery store, you will want to look for a bulb that still has some of the feathery stems showing. These feathery fronds will provide an elegant finish to your dish. To finish off your dish, pull off some of the fronds and sprinkle them across the top. This will provide a nice visual accent.

How to Slice

For anything you want to cook quickly, you will want to cut crosswise. This will allow you to create thin slices across your bulb that will cook faster. For anything that you will cook longer, you can cut the bulb into wedges lengthwise. This would be for dishes such as a roast where you will be cooking them for an extended amount of time.

How to Prepare

To begin, rinse off the bulbs well and pat them until they are dry. You can then cut off the stalks close to the bulb.

If you desire, peel the bulb with a vegetable peeler to remove the stringy outer layer.

Short Cooking Time

For dishes with a shorter cooking time, you will want to cut across the bulb. Make the cuts as thick or as thin as you like.

Long Cooking Time

For dishes with longer cooking time, such as roasting or baking, cut across the bulb lengthwise to make into wedges. Then cut through the core of the fennel. If you leave some of the core attached to each wedge it will help to keep the wedges together. When you cook it, the core will become tender.

Grilling

When grilling, it is a good idea to remove the core. To grill, cut wedges lengthwise and then slice down through the core at an angle. Slice the quarters crosswise to the thickness you desire.

Your fennel is now ready to cook, and then you get to enjoy it!

Fennel is a fantastic side dish. It adds some delicious flavor, and colors to your dish. Learning How To Prep Fennel is so very easy.

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