The market · Vegetables · Southern Europe

Fennel

Florence fennel: a swollen, layered bulb with a clean anise taste that softens and sweetens as it cooks.

anise · sweet · fresh
Fenneljust in

Kinds

Florence fennel
The bulb, raw or cooked.
Wild fennel
No bulb — grown for its fronds, seeds and pollen.

Goes with

blood orangeolive oilporkparmesan

Knowing it

Where to buy
Heavy, white, unbruised bulbs, ideally with the feathery tops still on.
Worth knowing
Slice paper-thin and dress raw with lemon, olive oil and salt.

Kitchens that keep it in

Provence — south-eastern France, from the Rhône to NiceProvençalOlive oil, garlic and the herbs of the dry hills, with tomatoes, fish from the Mediterranean and sauces pounded in a mortar.10 classics

More vegetables, in season with it

VegetablesAgrettimineral, faintly salty, crunchyNot cooked here yetVegetablesArtichokesnutty, grassy, bitterbitterNot cooked here yetjust inVegetablesBrussels sproutsnutty when browned, sweet, bitterbitterNot cooked here yetat its peakVegetablesButternut squashsweet, nutty2 classics