This is a new weekly series on the blog where I share a handful of inspiring recipes using a particular ingredient that is currently in season. I love recipe roundups that focus on one ingredient or flavor. They are a wonderful resource when I come home from the farmers market with a beautiful bounty of what's available or when I pickup our weekly CSA share from Urban Roots Farm and feel invigorated to try something new. Moreover, they are my lifeline when I'm looking at a once-pristine piece of produce, now turned, wondering what to make with it before it's gone. They are mighty defense against food waste. 10 Recipes I Love is the place where I share inspiring recipes using what's in season, and I hope they bring as much joy into your kitchen as they do mine. This week focuses on fennel, that hardy vegetable whose edible bulb, stalks, feathery fronds, and seeds seem to bring about strong feelings among eaters due to unfamiliarity or being familiar with their anise-like flavor. The bulb and stalks can be thinly shaved into salads, braised or turned into gratin, the fronds added to salads, juiced, or made into pesto, the seeds toasted for aromatic dishes or infused into simple syrups. I was in the unfamiliar camp with fennel until a few years ago and have fallen deeply in love with this strange and beautiful vegetable. Below are a few of my favorite ways to use it. The recipes at the front of the list come together quickly and are great in a pinch, while those toward the middle and end involve a bit more preparation. -Mallory
- Shaved Fennel Salad with Mushrooms and Parmesan by Molly Wizenberg on her blog, Orangette. Molly adapted her recipe from Alice Waters and Julia Child. You can watch the original recipe come together on this episode of Julia Child: Cooking with Master Chefs.
- Arugula-Fennel Salad by Eugenia Bone featured on Food & Wine
- Pear-Fennel Soup by David Lebovitz on his website
- Vodka, Blood Orange, Fennel Cocktail, a beautiful reader's choice inspired drink created by the staff writers at Bon Appetit
- Caramelized Fennel and Farro Salad by Ashley Rodriguez on her blog, Not Without Salt
- Fennel al Forno by David Tanis author of the weekly City Kitchen column for the New York Times
- Quinoa Roasted Fennel & Parsnip Salad by Beth Kirby on her blog, Local Milk
- Orange Fennel Mustarda by Elizabeth Rex via Food52
- Roast Sausages with Fennel by Mimi Thorrison on her blog, Manger
- Hortopita - Fennel and Herb Phyllo Pastries byRuth Honegger and Marino Pascal, featured on Saveur
What are your favorite ways to use fennel?