Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

This is an easy dish to make with fennel. If you want to add protein to the dish, Italian sausage or sardines are great options to compliment the fennel. The fennel and onion mixture caramelizes in the time it takes to bring water to a boil and cook the pasta al dente.

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 medium bulbs fennel, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb pasta, preferably penne
Zest from one lemon, plus juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (instead of pepper, you can also use red chile flakes)
Fennel fronds, roughly chopped, to garnish

Put large pot of salted water on to boil, for pasta. In a large
skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Stir in onion and
fennel and reduce heat to medium. Continue cooking, stirring
occasionally. When pasta is almost cooked through, fennel
mixture should be turning a nice golden brown. Drain al dente
pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Add pasta and water
to skillet with fennel mixture. Add lemon zest and juice. Stir
well. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: instead of pasta, you can use cooked black or pinto beans.

Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

Regular canned olives won’t work well in this recipe. If you don’t have good quality, oil cured black olives, just omit them.
The salad will still be delicious. For a more substantial salad, add slices of ripe avocado, too.

2 grapefruit, peeled, segmented and chopped into bite size pieces
1 large bulb fennel, very thinly sliced
1/4 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
6-8 oil cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
Red chile flakes, to taste
Olive oil, drizzle
Salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Feta cheese, to taste

Toss together grapefruit, fennel, onion and olives. Dress with chile flakes, salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Let sit for at least 30 minutes. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese before serving.

Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

Citrus vinaigrette is great for salads with strong flavored greens
like endive. Adding toasted pecans (or even candied pecans)
will really help round out the salad, as well.

3 large handfuls endive, cleaned and roughly chopped
2 large handfuls spinach, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced (optional)
1 grapefruit, segmented
About 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Citrus vinaigrette, to taste

Mix together veggies, then drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to
coat. Top with nuts and grapefruit segments just before serving.

Citrus Vinaigrette

Rachel Yaseen, Two Spoons

Use this vinaigrette for any salad, but it is especially nice over an
endive salad (following recipe). You can use leftovers to drizzle
over roasted veggies, too.

1/4 cup juice of 1 orange (or half orange, half grapefruit)
1/8 cup each, juice of 1 lemon and lime
1/4 cup organic, unrefined sesame oil (not toasted), or olive oil
2 tablespoon agave nectar
1 tablespoon chives, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a jar with a tight fitting lid.
Shake well before serving. Dressing should keep well in fridge
for one week.

http://helengraves.co.uk

1 medium kohlrabi
1 medium fennel bulb
Small handful arugula (optional)
Lemon-Caper Dressing  (quantity will provide leftover dressing)
1 large handful small capers (didn’t have any—salad fine without them)
The juice of 1 large lemon + more for crisping the fennel
Twice the amount of extra virgin olive oil (as lemon juice)
Black pepper
Sea salt
1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard
– To make the fennel and kohlrabi salad: Slice the fennel as thinly as you can and add to a bowl of cold water and the lemon juice. Slice the kohlrabi and then pare strips off each slice with a vegetable peeler (this is to get wafer thin slices). Add to the bowl with the fennel.
– To make the lemon-caper dressing: Crush the garlic with a generous pinch of sea salt in a pestle and mortar. Add some black pepper and a heaped teaspoon of wholegrain mustard. Stir together.
– Add the juice of 1 large lemon, the capers and twice the amount of olive oil. Whisk to emulsify.
– Drain the water from the salad and place in a bowl with the rocket if using. Add half the dressing and stir to coat. Serve a wedge of the frittata with some salad and some of the leftover dressing drizzled on top.

Lorraine Glazar, Tucson CSA

I find it interesting that suddenly frugality is “in”. For me, it was never “out”. One of the best frugal and delicious moves is to make homemade vegetable stock. I’ve never found a canned or boxed vegetable broth I like, and since it is so easy to make my own, I don’t have to. Using a slow cooker conserves energy, and the idea can be adapted to stove top or pressure cooker.

Clean vegetable trimmings: Root ends of onion, herb stems, green tops from I’itoi onions, tails and tips from carrots, tomato cores, turnips, radishes, celery tops and roots, fennel cores, skins peeled off of ginger roots, etc.
2 quarts good-tasting water
Bay leaf
Peppercorns
Dried chili (optional)

Save your clean vegetable trimmings in the freezer until a gallon sized bag is at least half full. Place these trimmings in your slow cooker and cover with 2 quarts water. Add a bay leaf and a dozen whole peppercorns. Cook on slow for 4 to 8 hours.

Allow to cool, and strain liquid into sturdy jars.

Tips for success:

Use water you like to drink. Tap water is fine if it tastes good to you, otherwise use filtered. Subtle vegetable flavor won’t overcome chlorine or heavy mineralization.

Do not salt. You will salt the stock when you deploy it in cooking.

Save strong flavored vegetables (members of the cabbage family, artichoke peelings, etc) separately and make a batch with them for use in like-tasting soups. Be sure to taste the stock before you label it in case there are any strong flavors (broccoli stems, etc.) you didn’t notice when the mix went in.

Potato peels, winter squash trimmings, etc. make a wonderful cloudy broth. It’s perfect for chowders or other thick chunky soups; keep it separate from stock you want to look clear.

Compost the solid vegetables after you have strained off the stock. If planning to freeze the stock leave 1 ½ inches “headroom” in the top of the jar.

Tina Hansleben, Tucson CSA

3 Medium Fennel Bulbs

4 Medium Carrots

2 Green Onions

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

4 Leaves of Chard w/stem

¼ C Nutritional Yeast

Salt to Taste

Directions:

Remove fennel tops from the bulb.

Chop carrots, fennel, garlic, chard, and onions.

Sauté fennel and carrot in oil until a bit softened.

Add remaining vegetables and sauté 1 minute.

Add water to cover and simmer until carrot and fennel is very soft.

Place all in the blender to puree. Add water to desired consistency.

Add nutritional yeast, lemon, salt and pepper. (I usually taste to know how much.)

Amy Clark, Tucson CSA

This is a good way to use up fresh herbs- and who doesn’t love fresh bread? I rarely bake bread but this recipe is very simple. The original recipe calls for chives and basil, but I’ve used chives and fennel and scallions and fennel. I bet cilantro would be good, too (and who doesn’t always have cilantro to use up?).

1 tablespoon dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoon sweet butter, melted (I just used margarine)

1/2 cup finely chopped chives (or substitute)

1/4 cup finely chopped basil (or substitute)

3 cup flour (calls for white but I mixed with whole wheat)

1. In large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in egg, salt, butter, and herbs.

2. Beat in flour, one cup at a time, to form a stiff dough.

3. Turn dough onto floured board and knead about 10 mins, or until smooth and elastic. Place in buttered bowl, rotate dough so surfaces are greased, and cover loosely with a damp cloth. Place in a warm area and let rise until about doubled in size.

4. Punch dough down, shape into loaf, place in 9-in loaf pan and let rise again until doubled in size.

5. Bake at 350 for 50 mins. Cool on wire rack and enjoy.

Recipe from Donna Kerr in “Tony Clark’s New Blueberry Hill Cookbook”

Makes six servings

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

2 bunches green onions, washed, ends removed, thinly sliced

4 ½ cups chicken stock or reduced sodium chicken broth (divided use)

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup mascarpone or heavy whipping cream

Toasted fennel seed for garnish (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the fennel and green onions and saute briefly.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and simmer until the fennel is tender, stirring frequently. Using an immersion blender, or, processing in small batches in a blender or food processor, puree the mixture.

Whisk in the remaining 2 ½ cups of stock. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the mascarpone or heavy whipping cream. Remove the soup from the heat immediately. Serve it cold or warm, garnished with toasted fennel seeds.

Nutritional data: 169 calories, 72 percent from fat. 14 g. fat (6 g. saturated fat), 10 g. carbohydrates, 3 g. protein, 805 mg. Sodium, 31 mg. Cholesterol, 84 mg. Calcium, 4 g. fibe

Lorraine’s Healthier Version

Makes four servings

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

2 bunches green onions, washed, ends removed, thinly sliced

3 cups chicken stock or reduced sodium chicken broth (divided use)

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup half and half

Toasted fennel seed for garnish (optional)

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil. Add the fennel and green onions and saute briefly.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and simmer until the fennel is tender, stirring frequently. Using an immersion blender, or, processing in small batches in a blender or food processor, puree the mixture. Use the remaining 1 cup of broth to smoothe the puree. Add half and half. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If necessary, reheat briefly. Serve it cold or warm, garnished with toasted fennel seeds.

from marthastewart.com

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
1 medium fennel bulb, fronds chopped, stalks sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick, and bulb halved then sliced 1/4 inch thick lengthwise (tough core removed and discarded)
4 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
5 teaspoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a deep 9-by-13-inch baking dish, toss potatoes with fennel (bulb and stalk), garlic, and 4 teaspoons oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Bake, tossing occasionally, until potato edges are browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, warm remaining teaspoon oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook, starting with skin side down, until browned on both sides, 6 to 10 minutes. Remove chicken.

Wipe skillet with a paper towel; add broth, and bring to a boil. Add chicken and hot broth to potato mixture in baking dish; bake until chicken is no longer pink and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Garnish with fronds.

Sara Jones, Tucson CSA

About 3 cups shredded kohlrabi and/or cabbage
1 small fennel bulb, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
½ red onion, finely sliced
½ sour apple, shredded
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup mayo (or use a couple tablespoons olive oil)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 pinch celery seeds, poppy seeds or crushed fennel seeds
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the shredded vegetables together. Mix the rest of the
ingredients in a separate bowl then pour over vegetables,
tossing well to coat. Let salad sit for at least 30 minutes
before serving.