Fennel is a wondrous vegetable which taste just like the candy licorice. This vegetable is one of my moms favorite. It can have a very subtle flavor when cooked but is more active when eaten raw. It is a perennial with a pale green color and small flowers of white. The flavor isn’t exclusive to the vegetable- it’s found in spice form and the fronds at the end are herbaceous. It can also be used as fennel pollen, an expensive but exhilarating exhibit of the flavor.
The vegetable was originally from the shores of the Mediterranean, but often isn’t included in crudite platters- one of the many continuing crimes against humanity. Sweet Italian sausages are filled with fennel seeds but it’s also utilized in salads with other ingredients ubiquitous to Italy and that region, like blood oranges. The flavor of fennel can be sweetened with careful caramelization and roasting. Try it added into mirepoix, or use the spice the next time you make spaghetti and red sauce!