Fennel Seed

Botanical Name: Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce

Common Names: Large fennel, sweet fennel, wild fennel, finocchio, carosella, Florence fennel

Fennel Seed is a wonderful seasoning for a range of dishes.

Fennel Seeds can be sprinkled on chicken along with orange juice and olives for a delicious main dish. Other main dishes that use the flavor of Fennel include pasta. For a quick dinner, add olive oil, green onion and garlic to diced tomatoes and season with fennel, then pour the sauce over small shell pasta and toss with parmesan cheese. Or try Fennel with artichoke hearts, lemon juice and your favorite diced leftover meat served over pasta for another variation of a pasta dinner.

You can make a vegetable-based soup that features butternut squash that has been roasted and then pureed, and add Fennel to heighten the flavor of the dish. Salads are excellent with Fennel and fresh orange slices as ingredients.

Barbecued foods benefit from a sprinkling of Fennel Seed herb. You can include Fennel in a spice rub that can be used on chicken or poultry. Sausage often contains Fennel as a seasoning, and you can add it to loose ground sausage to create wonderful sausage burgers that can be served with all the trimmings.