Fennel
Bulb, trimmed and quartered or sliced
Fennel: roast at 400°F for about 32 min.
Cooking Methods
↕ Slide the temperature to see how cook times change
Look for firm, tight white bulbs that feel heavy for their size, with no browning or cracks on the outer layer. Bright, perky fronds indicate freshness. Trim the stalks flush with the bulb (save the fronds for garnish and the stalks for stock), then quarter through the core so the wedges hold together in the pan. Fennel keeps 7–10 days loose in the crisper drawer, but the flavor fades every day, so cook it the same week you buy it.
Fennel is the vegetable most people walk past because a vegetable that tastes like licorice is sometimes weird, but heat changes everything. Roasting or caramelizing fennel mellows that anise bite into something sweet, nutty, and closer to a mild onion than black jelly beans. Cut the bulb into thick wedges through the core so the layers stay attached, and you'll find times below for roasting, braising, grilling, and sautéing. If someone says they hate fennel, I cook them up a roasted wedge and it converts skeptics almost every time.