"fennel" news and stories

I first discovered taralli a year or two ago. My friend and I went out for beer and ordered an "Assortito" plate. What arrived was pure finger food heaven -- meats, cheeses, pickled vegetables, roasted vegetables, and these small pretzel-like crackers boasting the wonderful taste of fennel seed. But I drank too much to remember what they were called, and forgot until this weekend, when I once again ordered the Assortito. Memory wasn't going to stop me this time! I went home and researched.

Taralli are an Italian snack food popular in southern Italy. They look a lot like an untwisted pretzel, and are really quite close to a bagel -- formed and pinched, quickly boiled, and then baked. But whereas the bagel is soft and chewy on the inside, perfect for toppings and bread-like meals, the taralli is crisp and dense, like a cracker. With the addition of fennel seeds, which are folded into the dough, these are absolutely wonderful with the foods I mentioned above. It's not quite a sweet flavor, but one that wonderfully balances strong, savory flavors.

It takes a little time to make these -- forming the dough, working with stickiness, a 2-hour rise time -- but if you like the flavor of fennel, you must try it. (But don't go overboard and add anise. I added a little ground anise and it was way too strong for this snack.) The taste is too good to pass up -- I'm even scheming to make some small ones for my salads -- a tasty alterna-cruton.

To make the above taralli, I used the recipe noted on BreadBasketcase and LemonPi, from Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking.

I think it was sometime in 2008 that I discovered how delicious Pernod was in Italian cooking (which led me to make one heck of a Pernod and fennel-based lasagna in August). But for some silly reason, I never thought of combining the two without noodles and tomato sauce. Duh.

The above picture comes from a delicious side of Fennel Braised in Pernod from The Kitchn (using a recipe from The Greasy Spoon). Slap this on the table with a shot of sambuca and a dessert of Black Jack gum and this food fiend would be a very happy camper. I don't think I'd need a main dish. But maybe pernod-flavored pasta...?

With a gentle anise flavor, as well as a great crunch, fresh fennel is delicious in this salad and even on its own when sliced thinly. If you're looking to update your salad greens, this fennel and parsley salad is perfect. Due to its simplicity, you can change up the ingredients very easily and create new versions of it throughout the fall months.

Read on for the recipe from the cookbook: Instant Entertaining by Donna Hay.

If you ever go out for a meal at an Indian restaurant, then you've probably seen the little silver bowl or tray by the door filled with seeds for you to nibble on your way out. These are fennel seeds, and I believe they are either to cleanse the palate or freshen your breath in some way after all that spicy, garlicky Indian food. Fennel is also believed to have digestive benefits.

Fennel seeds taste like black licorice, which probably explains why I always grab a handful of them. I love black licorice. Oftentimes, the seeds are also covered with a candy coating - and now I am convinced that these colorful candy-coated fennel seeds are the origin of the Good n Plenty candy.

Good n Fruity, though? I'll have to get back to you on that one.