Fennel is a root with an aniseed flavor. It can be chopped in salads or sautéed/roasted. To cut fennel, remove the top and bottom, peel the outer layer, remove the core, and cut it however you like. The stalks can also be used in recipes.
Fennel is an edible root, white, flavored with aniseed. Those who like black licorice would probably enjoy chopped fennel in a salad with spinach and sliced strawberries. Others may prefer to saute or roast this root because cooking usually takes away the sharpness of its flavor. Most recipes that include fennel call for it to be trimmed or sliced, so cooks typically trim these roots before cooking. One of the keys to cutting fennel correctly is cutting it in the correct order. The ends should typically come off first, followed by the core. After that, cooks can cut this vegetable however they like.
Before cutting fennel, cooks should locate the top and bottom of the root. The top has thick green stems with feathery leaves, while the underside is flat and may have a few small white hairs. Both the top stems and the flat end should be cut away with a sharp knife, creating a root that looks almost like a baseball with a flat top and bottom.
The outer skin of a fennel bulb is sometimes tough with an off-flavor. Many cooks carefully score this outer layer with a knife and peel it off. Others simply use a peeler. The bulb must be rinsed after peeling to remove any dirt that may have hidden under the first layer.
The next step in cutting fennel usually involves standing it upright on one of its flat ends and cutting through the middle. Cooks examining the inside of the cut bulb should see a dense, tough inner core extending from the center of the bulb down. This can be removed by holding the knife at a 45° angle against the cut side of each bulb half and cutting it straight down. At this point, the fennel bulb is prepared for almost any type of cut the cook would like to make.
Cutting fennel bulb halves vertically usually produces wedges, while cutting them horizontally creates thin slices. Horizontal slicing, followed by vertical slicing, creates small pieces of fennel that can be sauteed with sliced onions and potatoes. These smaller chunks also work well in raw soups, stews, and salads. The wedges can be roasted, while the thin slices could be added to casseroles.
Cooks who don’t like wasting food can also try cutting up fennel stalks. To do this, cooks would simply grab each stem at the tip and pull their fingers down to remove all the feathery leaves. These leaves often make for a delicious and delicious side dish. The stems can then be cut into rings and used in recipes just like the bulb.
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