"root" news and stories

Fennel is reliable. It's reliable-looking, for one: it sits on a sturdy, bulbous base and boasts welcoming green fronds and, if in the wild, tiny yellow flowers. It also possesses a reliable flavor: it'll welcome you back each time you use it, comfortable, secure, and unwavering in its flavor. And finally, you can rely on fennel for its multipurpose u, as a feature or an accent to your other foods.

Its History

Fennel is a perennial herb that's grown mainly in the Mediterranean and India. First referred to as "marathon" by the ancient Greeks and later used against witchcraft in medieval times, fennel is high in Vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber. Fennel's flavor, a distinct liquorice, comes from the anethole compound, which is also found in anise and star anise, which is why one is often mistaken for the other. The one you'll find most often in your local supermarket is known as florence fennel.

Its Uses

Fennel is primarily used either for its "bulb," a tightly-grouped bunch of leaves (large shards are pulled off to be used in soups or salads), its fronds (sprinkled onto salads and entrees as an accent) and as an herb to flavor dishes in its seed form. It is also one of the primary ingredients in absinthe. Even the pollen from fennel's delicate yellow flowers are used in cooking, though they are quite expensive. It is often used as a breath freshener, and is said to have medicinal qualities, used for everything from preventing jaundice to aiding digestion (it can be used as a diuretic) to staunching coughs.

Roasted chicken with fried yucca root was the obvious winner for judges at the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe: Chicken Showdown (just so we're clear, the contestants were battling it out, not the chickens). Grand Prize Winner Amparo Alam of Syracuse, Utah, swept the competition, winning 99 out of a possible 100 points for her original dish.

The recipe, listed here, uses ajies (Peruvian chilies) and huacatay (a Peruvian herb) to enhance the flavors of both the bird and the veggie.

Other category winners included Eboni Williams' Battered Chicken Wings with Pomegranate and Mango BBQ Sauce and Lauren Wyler's Chicken, Tasso, and Andouille Gumbo.

What do you think? Do these recipes sound good to you? Or could you do better? Put your money where your mouth is and submit your recipe by March 31 for the next competition.

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Fresh ginger is notoriously difficult to grate. The root plant can be quite tough and is very fibrous, so it easily gets caught up in blades. Finely dicing ginger by hand works well in terms of getting around those fibers, but takes a very sharp knife and a steady hand. The best option is usually a microplane, the same kitchen tool used for tasks such as shredding parmesan cheese and zesting citrus, as its small and ultra-sharp grates cut the ginger down into fine fragments. If you find yourself grating a lot of ginger at home, however, a better gadget might be the triangular Horseradish and Ginger Grater. This specially designed grater has alternating teeth that prevent the ginger's fibers from getting stuck, ensuring a smoother and easier grate. The gadget also works for horseradish (as the name suggests), wasabi and can be used with other root vegetables that you want very finely grated. The triangular graters run about $20. If you want a budget model, you can find ones wit less design flare at Surfas for $2.60.

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