Bronze Fennel: a sidewalk ingredient that's been hiding...
Florence fennel, with its cultivated bulbs, is now a mainstream presence in salads, raw or roasted.15 years ago, it was one of the first and most memorable ways I had eaten it.It was served in Sicilian style, with thinly shaved fennel and raw artichokes, Parmigiano-Reggiano, orange and mint.It was a revelation to a small-town girl from Australia.
carrots and Coriander are included in the umbel family.Florence fennel will not form a bulb.It doesn't make a lot of appearances in grocery stores or farmers' markets.
You can buy seeds and potted plants at nurseries if you see it growing wild.Its uses are plentiful.I have had bronze fennel stems, the leaves in soups and salads, and on meat and fish.
When visiting my husband's family in New Zealand, I spotted wild fennel everywhere.I was confused when I wanted to use it for dinner.His family told me that they didn't eat that.They said it was poisonous when I questioned it.
I had just returned from my first Attica experience where I was presented with yellow sorrel flowers in a soup.
We have lost sight of what is healthy and delicious because of the stigma surrounding weeds.We would be doing the world and our health a service to make them a regular part of our diet.
It's very important where we get these weeds.You wouldn't want to eat something from a polluted environment.
It is best to grow bronze fennel yourself if you can, as it is an interchangeable word for weeds.It is easy on the eye and desirable to all the insect pollinators, so it is a bonus.
It will draw bees, butterflies and hover flies to your garden or balcony.The most happy shade of fluoro yellow comes from the explosion of smokey floral clusters.It is a stunning contrast and will dance with insects.
I agree with my friend chef Pasi Petanen that it will be better if the food has something in it.Don't worry, these herbs are not interchangeable to a home cook, but you can.Don't tell Pasi.
The first time I ate raw Florence fennel in a salad was when I had a bronze fennel dish.The chefs at Kadeau used it in a dessert.
Since then, I have eaten some remarkable things, but this dessert stands out like the north star in a sky full of diamonds.The damson plums were glazed with a rose-hip syrup and had a delicately bitter taste and a hint of meadowsweet leaves.It is a genius dish, using like and herbs as the sweetening component.This was a thoroughly modern presentation of Florence fennel, and it was my first time seeing it.