Fennel Salad - Insalata di Finocchi

In  a previous post I wrote about fennel (finocchio) being a powerhouse of nutrition and the many ways I use it.  Today, I like to share this inviting and rich salad made of fennel, potatoes and beans.  Insalata di Finocchio will make a great sidedish for the Thanksgiving table.

Insalata di Finocchi

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino – picasaweb

Ingredients

3 fennel bulbs
2 potatoes
1 cup cooked beans
Sprig of parsley
Few drops of Tabasco
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Clean the fennel and cut into wedges.  Cook in boiling water until tender and drain.  Peel potatoes, slice and cook them in boiling, salted water for a few minutes.  Drain and add to the fennel.  Add the beans, chopped parsley, olive oil and a drop or two of Tabasco.  Salt and pepper to taste.


Ladies -

Fennel contains flavonoids that balance hormone levels in females and help alleviate the symptoms of menopause by reducing the intensity and the frequency of hot flashes and sweats.

Fennel or Finocchio - It’s perfect for the autumn table.

All photos - Copyright - ©2011 - La Casa e Il Giardino – picasaweb

Fennel is a perennial plant (often cultivated as an annual) that grows wild throughout the Mediterranean and California.  The sweet bulb fennel we find in the produce section at the grocer is known as Florence fennel or finocchio in Italian. It's is a powerhouse food: every part is edible, from the common bulb to the stalk, foliage, seeds, and even pollen, which is harvested from the plant's yellow blossoms.

Fennel pollen harvested from plant's yellow blossoms

If you never tasted or cooked with fennel, now is the time to fall in love with it.

Fennel's subtle, anise flavor works just fine on its own, but does wonders when combined with other foods.  The stalks tend to be fibrous, like celery.   I add them to stocks, roasts and braises.

Chicken soup with fennel (brodo di gallina)

A simple salad of oranges, red onion and lemon vinaigrette has more zing with the addition of crunchy, raw fennel.

Blood oranges and fennel salad
Insalata di arance sanguine e finocchio

A mixed seafood salad has more flavor when chopped fennel fronds are included in the ingredients.

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Seafood salad - Insalata di pesce

My sausages contain fennel seeds. The slightly sweet anise flavor of the seeds complements the hot spices in the sausages.



Home-made sausages

What would my porchetta taste like without the aroma of wild fennel powder?

My suggestion, if you passed fennel by in the produce section, take a second look.

https://casa-giardino.blogspot.com/2016/09/blood-oranges-town-crier-and-my.html

Insalata di Finocchio e Fagioli