ITALIAN SEAFOOD/FISH STOCK
(for making risottos, soups, cioppino)

2 lbs. fish bones, heads, and skin from non-oily fish such
as cod, sole, snapper, halibut, sea bass or monkfish
1 pound shells of shrimp and/or crab
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
1 small fennel "bulb", coarsely chopped

Bouquet garni:

6 sprigs parsley
1 whole Bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
6 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crunched

1- cups dry white wine
7 cups water

Remove scales from any fish skin. Remove any gills. Rinse heads, bones, and skin.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Skim the surface occasionally to remove fat and froth.

Reduce heat and simmer gently uncovered for 30 minutes for light fish/seafood stock (for use in risottos).

Cook uncovered for 60 minutes for soup stock.

Strain the stock into a large bowl.

If need be, store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to month.

Makes about six cups.

RISOTTO AI FRUTTI DI MARE
(Seafood Risotto)

4 cups light fish/seafood stock (or two cups
regular fish/seafood stock and 2 cups water; or one cup clam juice and 3 cups water)
½ cup dry white wine
1 Tbs Light olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
1 cup Arborio (or other good risotto type) rice

3 Tbs Light olive oil
6 oz crimini mushrooms
1 clove garlic, sliced very thinly
1 lb fresh asparagus (can sub ½ cup thawed
frozen peas)
½ pound shrimp, peeled, de-veined, tails removed
½ pound sea scallops (halve large ones)
¼ pound cooked crabmeat

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (preferably lemon
basil; or chopped fennel leaf)
3 Tbs freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place stock and wine in saucepan and place on low heat to keep at a very low simmer.

Heat oil in a large, heavy skillet.

Sauté shallots over medium heat until soft.

Add rice, stir frequently to coat each grain and sauté about 3 minutes (until rice becomes opaque to oh-so-slightly toasted).

Add 1 cup (2-4 ladlefuls) of the stock and cook until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Reduce heat to medium-low.

Continue to add ¼ to ½ cup (a ladleful) of the stock to the rice and simmer the rice, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is absorbed.

When the risotto stock is more than ¾ used, start to cook the seafood mix.

In a separate large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Add mushroom, garlic, asparagus, shrimp, and scallops. Sauté until just medium rare; about 1-2 minutes.

Transfer the seafood plus crabmeat to the rice with the last ladleful of stock, add the cheese, and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

If you run out of stock, use hot water.

The risotto should be as tender as you like. Authentically, it is served when each grain is slightly firm to the bite. I, personally, like it somewhat softer.

CREMA DELLA MINESTRA DEL FINOCCHIO
E DELLÂASAPARAGO
(Cream of Fennel and Asparagus Soup)

Serves 8

6 cups chicken stock/broth
4 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
½ medium onion diced
4 medium shallots minced
1 large fennel bulb fronds removed and saved,
bulb diced
3 Tbs flour
1 pound asparagus white bottoms removed
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Cut asparagus into bite-size pieces and separate thicker chunks from tips.

Heat oil and butter in stock pot on medium-high heat. Add onion, shallots, and fennel bulb. Cook until slightly softened. Do not brown.

Add flour and toss thoroughly, heating through.

Add stock and thicker chunks of asparagus. Cook on medium heat until asparagus is slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

Add asparagus tips and heavy cream and heat for 3-5 more minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.

HARICOT VERTS, ROASTED FENNEL AND SHALLOTS

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 large fresh fennel bulbs, trimmed
¾ pound shallots, peeled, halved through root end
5 Tbs olive oil, divided
1 pound haricots verts (or small slender green beans),
trimmed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Spray rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Cut fennel bulbs lengthwise in half. Cut halves lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide wedges, with some core still attached to each.

Combine fennel and shallots in large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons oil; stir to coat. Arrange fennel and shallots in single layer on prepared sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Roast until tender and golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 35 minutes.

Cook haricots verts in large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Pat dry.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add roasted vegetables and haricots verts; toss until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to bowl and serve.

TARTE AUX POMMES ET AU FENOUIL
(Apple Tart with Caramelized Fennel)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17-¼-ounce package),
thawed
4 whole Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, chopped
¼ cup water
2 Tbs plus ¾ cup sugar
3 medium fennel bulbs (about 12 ounces each), halved
lengthwise, leafy stalks removed
4 Tbs (½ stick) unsalted butter
2 teaspoons anise seed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Roll out puff pastry sheet on lightly floured surface to 12-inch square. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold in overhang to form double-thick high-standing sides. Pierce pastry all over with fork. Freeze pastry shell 15 minutes. Line shell with foil and beans or pie weights.

Bake until sides are set, about 20 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until bottom is golden, about 8 minutes longer. Cool pastry shell.

Place apples, ¼ cup water and 2 tablespoons sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until mixture is reduced to 1-¼ cups, stirring and breaking up apples with back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Cook fennel in large saucepan of boiling, lightly salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; drain fennel well.
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Stir in ¾ cup sugar. Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is dark amber, stirring frequently, about 14 minutes.

Stir in drained fennel (caramel mixture will harden). Cover; cook until caramel melts, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Uncover and simmer until caramel thickens, about 5 minutes longer (fennel will be very tender).

(Pastry shell, apple compote and caramelized fennel can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately. Refrigerate apple and fennel mixtures; store pastry shell airtight at room temperature.)

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spread apple compote evenly over bottom of pastry shell. Arrange caramelized fennel evenly over compote. Sprinkle tart with anise seed. Bake until warmed through, about 15 minutes.

At its best when served with a whipped blend of mascarpone cheese, crème fraîche, and a bit of sugar.

Or serve it with vanilla (French Vanilla, of course) ice cream.

FENNEL & TOMATO SALAD SICILIANA

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3 medium bulb fennel (approx. 1-½ pound)

6 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
½ teaspoon sugar
teeny bit of salt and pepper
1 Tbs chopped fresh basil

4 Tbs thin sliced scallion/green onion

2 large ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
12 whole pitted ripe olives (preferably Sicilian black), halved

1 large head lettuce

Preparation:

Remove the leafy fennel stalks (save for salad garnish) and cut the bulbs in half lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.

Place the fennel in a saucepan with enough water to cover and boil until just tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper, and basil, whisking until well combined to make the marinade/dressing.

Add the scallions and blanched fennel to the marinade and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Just before you're ready to serve, stir in the chopped tomato and olives.

Place on a bed of small leaves (or pieces) of butter-leaf or romaine lettuce.

Optional: Navel orange or blood orange slices for garnish.

MâCHE, ROASTED PEAR AND FENNEL SALAD WITH PORT VINAIGRETTE

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 cup walnut halves, toasted
2 firm but ripe red Anjou pears, halved and cored
2 small fennel bulbs, stalks removed
(about 12 ounces), cored and quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup vegetable stock

Port Vinaigrette

1 cup port
1 shallot, peeled and sliced
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

8 cups mache

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°. Cook walnuts until toasted, about 5 minutes.

Place pears, cut side up, and fennel in a large glass or ceramic baking dish.

Drizzle with olive oil and stock. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes.
Turn pears and fennel over and roast five more minutes, until pears are tender. Remove pears and transfer to plate.

Continue cooking fennel until tender, 10-15 minutes longer.
Transfer fennel to plate with pears.

When cool, thinly slice pears and fennel lengthwise.

Meanwhile, reduce port and shallots in a heavy medium sauce pan over
medium heat until ¼ cup remains. Strain into a large bowl and cool.

Whisk in oil, vinegar, salt and pepper until thoroughly combined.
Add Mâche, pears, fennel and walnuts to the vinaigrette and toss to coat.

Serve and garnish with some of the pears and walnuts arranged on top of each salad.

I LOVE FENNEL,
Joe

Hey there, L, how ARE you? Did you make Christmas dinner for your father and how the heck did it go?

Someone here did a fennel salad, I remember, but I don't remember who. Yeah, I know, I'm over 50.....

I've mostly seen fennel fronds used as a garnish, chopped up and sprinkled on pasta, etc.

Annie

I love fennel. I'm looking forward to everyone's responses. Here are the 2 ways I use it (so far!!)

Fennel/zucchini saute

Slice medium sized zucchinis on a thick, sharp diagonal
Cut trimmed fennel bulb into equally thick slices
(you can make as much as you need - no measurements)
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, salt and pepper the zuchs and fennel - saute on each side until brown and soft...(the flavors meld very nicely - great with roast chicken or pork).

Roast chicken on a bed of stuffing:

Preheat oven to 400 F

A small chicken, cut in half - rub with olive oil, salt and pepper...generously butter a deep metal baking pan just large enough to hold the chicken tightly. Make a bread dressing as follows:

1 white baguette, cut into large dice (a small one for 2 people)
1 diced yellow onion
2 sliced carrots
2 sliced celery stalks with leaves
1 small bulb of fennel, sliced
a few shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
salt/pepper
fresh chopped rosemary - a few teaspoons

Mix the bread dressing ingredients in the buttered roasting pan and top with the chicken. Put into the oven and cook for about 75 - 90 minutes. The chicken skin will be nice and crispy, and the vegetables will have steamed underneath it, the bread will be seasoned with the chicken drippings and there will be nice, crusty pieces of bread around the outside. Yummy!!!

seagrass

I also remember that my grandmother made a marinara sauce that had lots of fresh fennel leaf in it (we had a big plant in the front yard). And she made a tomato-based sauce with fish in it (firm white fish such as sheepshead, albacore, sea bass or monk fish) that had lots of fresh fennel leaf; kinda like a fusion of cioppino and boulliabaise. We ate it with our pasta.

Plus...

SEARED SCALLOPS AND FRESH FENNEL SALAD WITH KUMQUAT-TARRAGON VINAIGRETTE

Makes 8 first-course servings.

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
10 whole kumquats, stemmed, quartered, seeded
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 medium fennel bulbs, thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
1 medium-size head radicchio, quartered, thinly sliced
(about 4 cups)
4 stalks green onions, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
24 large sea scallops (about 1 3/4 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter, divided

Directions:

Puree oil, kumquats, and tarragon in processor. Add vinegar, orange juice concentrate, and mustard; process until just combined. Season vinaigrette with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Combine fennel, radicchio, and green onions in large bowl. Add 3/4 cup vinaigrette; toss to combine.

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add 12 scallops and sauté until golden on both sides and just opaque in center, about 3 minutes total. Transfer sautéed scallops to large plate, then tent with foil. Repeat with remaining butter and scallops.

Divide salad among 8 plates. Place 3 scallops on top of each. Drizzle scallops with remaining vinaigrette and serve.

Joe

I've made a pesto that was a basic basil pesto but I threw in a handful of chopped fennel leaf. It was great with the fish/shrimp and pasta.

Joe

You can use fennel leaves anywhere you'd use dill leaves.

You CAN freeze the leaves, but they'll thaw limp and unpretty, like parsley - not suitable for garnishing. However, the flavour won't be affected. Use it chopped wherever you want a fennel flavour, especially for putting into the cavity of baked whole fish, or in sauces.

Chopped fennel leaves go well with seafood, cheeses and vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, celery, zucchini, cucumber, leek, spinach or onions. The leaves are used with fish, vegetables, cheese spreads and soups. Fennel can be used in/with salads, sausage, pork, duck, fish, cabbage, cucumber, onion, herb butter, cheese spread; seeds in desserts and breads.

The following recipes use only fennel leaves.

Carrots and Fennel
20 baby carrots
2 tablespoons fennel leaves, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper
lemon wedges

Steam the carrots until just tender, about 10-12 minutes over medium heat. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Over low heat, add the carrots, stirring to coat with the butter. Add the fennel leaves and stir to combine. Serve in a decorative dish and garnish with lemon slices.

Carrot Salad with Fennel
2 tablespoons chopped fennel leaves
3 cups grated carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Mix together the fennel and carrots. Whisk the oil, lemon and mustard together. Pour over the carrots and mix well. Cover and chill for one hour or more before serving, stirring occasionally.

Fennel Butter for Fish
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
dash of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fennel leaves

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate.

Fennel Salad
Cut sprigs of fennel about the length of your hand, tie into bunches as for asparagus. Boil in water. Serve with butter and a little vinegar.

Fennel Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fennel leaves
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
pinch salt
pinch sugar

In a small saucepan, heat oil, fennel leaves, lemon juice, crushed garlic and salt and sugar. Simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Pour over a bowl of sweet red onion and thinly sliced cucumber.

Warning: High doses of fennel may cause muscular spasms and hallucinations. This is particularly true if the oil is used. Use seeds in moderation and avoid the seeds if you have a history of allergies or skin sensitivities. Because of its hormonal action, it is best avoided by pregnant women, or those with oestrogen-dependent cancer. Best avoided by people with a history of alcoholism, hepatitis or liver disease. Avoid fennel if you have been advised not to take birth control pills. Do not use essential oil undiluted on skin, if pregnant, or if suffering from epilepsy.

I was supposed to make a fennel salad that had red peppers in it and I never did! I don't have the recipe because I had to return the cookbook it was in.

I love it raw, sliced very thin. It is good for the digestion so nice to have after dinner. I have never used the leaves, I agree they are pretty! Good ideas here.

Maybe I will experiment with some kind of fennel pesto for the freezer. It would be good to add to spaghetti sauce. Thanks for the tips Daisy, I figured you'd know a lot about using fennel.

Joe and Seagrass, these recipes sound absolutely divine. What great cooks you are! Unfortunately, although fennel made it to my price range, seafood never does, unless you count canned tuna as seafood! I'm wondering if I could make that apple/fennel tart as a strudel filling. I have some phyllo dough languishing in the fridge waiting to become strudel. Also, that salad with fennel, pears and mache, be still my heart!

I wish they had it in the store more often!

Oh P.S. for Annie, I did make Christmas dinner for my family--roast duck using Ann T's recipe where you boil it first, then high heat roast it to crisp the skin. It was excellent, and less of a greasy pan and oven than roasting it the whole time. I also made two stuffed cornish hens, which my dad bought, we had never had them before. I would have loved to have used the recipe Seagrass posted. Unfortunately, vegetarian me didn't know much so I just copied the recipe that was on the hen wrapper. It turned out great though, nice and greasy. My dad loved both birds. I also made roast sweet potatoes, and a pilaf with wild rice, mushrooms and green beans. My dad loved the whole meal, it had all his favorite food groups--fat, meat, bread and potatoes. I made cranberry-cherry cobbler for dessert but I cooked it at the wrong temp. and it didn't come out right--the cranberries weren't soft. I baked it some more and it was good but the family was scared off of it initially. As for me, I was sick the whole next day. I can't eat much of that rich kind of food. I passed on the duck soup later in the week, I had chili with beans and rice, lol.

TOMATO-FENNEL CONSOMME makes about 6 cups

4 medium-sized fennel bulbs (about 4 pounds)
2 medium-sized onions (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into chunks
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 ½ tsp. salt (less if using canned tomatoes
6 medium-sized ripe tomatoes (about 2 ½ pounds), chopped or three 14 ½ oz. cans diced tomatoes
a pinch or two of cayenne (optional)
Croutons (optional)

Remove the leafy tops from the fennel, and set aside. Cut the fennel bulbs into chunks. Place them in a food processor with the onions, and pulse together until finely minced. (You can also do this by hand.)

Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the chopped onion-fennel mixture and the salt, and sauté over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Lightly rinse out the food processor bowl and set aside to use again later.

Add the water and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Cover, lower the heat to a simmer, and cook for about 20 minutes. (A little longer wouldnt hurt. This is an inexact craft.)

Transfer the soup to the food processor and puree. Carefully strain into a large-ish bowl (if you plan to serve this cold) or another saucepan (if youre serving it hot). Dont press too hard on the vegetables, so the consommé stays clear. Season to taste with cayenne.

Heat or chill the soup, depending upon your taste and the weather. Garnish each serving with some of the feathery fennel tops, minced into tiny bits with scissors. You can also float some croutons on top, if you like.

Source: Mollie Katzens Vegetable Heaven