Easy Roasted Fennel Recipe: How to Prep Fennel for Roasting

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is a perennial herb that belongs to the carrot family. Though its thick stalks with feathery leaves and bright poofs of yellow flowers are native to the Mediterranean region, fennel grows wild on the side of roads everywhere from Italy to California to Australia, where it’s earned full-on invasive weed status.

The most common cultivated fennel plant is called Florence fennel. Most parts of the plant are edible: while the hollow fennel stalks can be a bit tough, its edible white bulb is treated as a vegetable, and its leaves (which are similar in consistency to dill), fruits (colloquially called seeds), pollen, and essential oils are incorporated into dishes all over the world.

Raw fennel has a crisp, herbal licorice flavor that becomes more complex when roasted. Like the sweetness that emerges from caramelizing onions, cooking fennel under high heat softens the initially sharp, almost medicinal, notes of licorice, coaxing deeper anise flavor into the forefront. Roasted fennel is a perfect savory complement to roast chicken or other veggies like roasted cauliflower.

Paper-thin slices are the ideal cut for raw fennel. This preparation allows diners to enjoy the ingredient’s fresh, herbaceous flavors without its woody, fibrous texture getting in the way. For roasting, thick pieces are best. Here’s how to prepare a fennel bulb for high-temperature cooking.

• Remove the stalks. First, trim away the tall stalks of the root, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for stock. You can reserve fennel fronds for a garnish or use in salads.
• Slice. With a sharp knife, slice down the center of the bulb. For quicker cooking and easy serving, slice the fennel into single-serving quarters, or thick slices, as preferred.
• Rinse and remove damaged outer layers. Rinse the fennel halves in cold water and either peel away or trim any damaged, browned, or wilted layers.
• Trim the core. Make a small triangular incision at the base of each root to remove the toughest part of the core. Try not to trim away too much, as the core keeps the pieces intact while the fennel roasts.