Fantastic Fennel : Use Every Part of This Historic Herb: From Stems and Bulbs to Leaves and Seeds

FENNEL IS one of the oldest of cultivated herbs. Romans have been eating it, with or without orange slices, for at least 2,000 years, at one time favoring it as a cure for obesity (it doesn’t work). Charlemagne declared that fennel should be grown in all his gardens, so efficacious were its healing powers. Falstaff, in Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 2,” speaks approvingly of a man who “eats conger eel and fennel.” Longfellow wrote of fennel, “. . . gladiators fierce and rude/mingled it with their daily food.” Colette claimed that female fennel plants were tastier than the male (she was wrong; fennel has male and female parts on each plant).

Every part of the fennel plant is edible: The seeds are commonly used to flavor bread, sausages and sauces and are an essential ingredient in Chinese five-spice powder; the sprouts and leaves add subtle spice to salads (in Greece and southern Italy, the leaves are sometimes used for stuffing oily fish), and the stem, at least when it’s young and yellow-green, can also be used for salads. The bulbous base of the plant (which is not a true bulb, although often mistaken for one), especially that of the variety known as Foeniculum vulgare ‘Azoricum,’ or Florence fennel, is not only used in salads but is also grilled or braised as a vegetable.

Fennel, which is a member of the carrot family, isn’t related to licorice. Its licoricelike character comes from an essential oil called anethole, which both plants share. Fennel is related to dill, coriander, cumin, caraway, chervil, parsley, lovage, Queen Anne’s lace and, most closely of all, anise. Fennel and anise are sometimes confused by, among other people, several Southern California supermarket chains, which incorrectly label fennel bulbs as “sweet anise.” Years ago, fennel was sold in Southern California only in late summer and early fall, but today, according to Joey Weiss of Northern Produce, it is grown year-round in California, Mexico, Florida and Holland.

FENNEL AND FETA SALAD

4 medium bulbs fennel, trimmed

1 large navel orange, peeled

6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Salt (optional)

Freshly ground pepper

4 branches fennel leaves and/or fennel flowers

Slice fennel and orange crosswise into paper-thin slices, then cut slices into quarters.

Put fennel and orange slices in salad bowl; add cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. Toss thoroughly, add salt to taste and grind in plenty of black pepper. Toss again and serve garnished with fennel leaves and/or flowers. Makes 4 servings.

Note: Bulgarian or Greek feta, available at specialty cheese stores and delis, has better flavor and consistency for this dish than French, Danish and American fetas commonly sold in supermarkets. Photographed by Michael LaMotte; food stylist: Stephanie Greenleigh; prop stylist: Sarah Slavin