WHAT’S IN SEASON

was offering them, I got to work seeing what I could come up with to get through it all.

I discovered that fennel bulbs are awesome cored, trimmed and baked alongside a whole chicken. Adding a little water in the bottom to steam them slightly keeps the bulbs from drying out, as does drizzling olive oil on them. I like to do both.

Broth is amazing when made with fennel, and the vegetable actually holds up even after days of simmering. Cooking fennel mellows the licorice taste, and the texture becomes similar to a whole cooked onion, soft with layers of delicate, savory yet unique flavor.

Some other preparations I’ve tried and loved include fennel pickled; marinated in teriyaki; skewered and barbecued; chopped and sautéed with onions and served over fish; chopped into chunks and cooked with buttery risotto; and shaved raw on top of an arugula and Parmesan salad with a champagne vinaigrette.

My favorite way to enjoy fresh fennel is sliced thinly with cabbage and made into a coleslaw with fresh mango slices, Meyer lemon juice, mayonnaise, salt and pepper. But whether braised, stewed, grilled, sautéed or served raw in salads or on a crudité platter, this versatile and healthy vegetable deserves to become much more of a staple in your cooking repertoire.

History

Fennel belongs to the Umbelliferae family and is a close botanic relative of parsley, carrots, celery, dill and cilantro.

It was first cultivated in the 17th century, in Italy, where it is called finocchio. In 1824, the seeds were sent from an American consul in Florence, Italy, to Thomas Jefferson. But it wasn’t until the last few decades that fennel has become somewhat popular and widely available in the U.S. Still, the U.S. doesn’t even make the list of the top dozen countries that cultivate the crop.

In many countries, fennel is a favorite, such as in Spain, where the stems are used in a pickled eggplant dish called berenjenas de almagro.

A popular salad in Israel is simply fennel sliced with parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, sumac, salt and pepper. Juicing fennel is a great way to get your daily dose of vitamin C and boost the immune system while adding a refreshing taste to any juice base.

The anethole oil in fennel is known to reduce inflammation and have antifungal and antibacterial properties and may help prevent cancer. Wild fennel has been long used medicinally to treat stomach complaints as it is an antispasmotic and digestive.

The fennel bulb itself is a fabulous source of fiber, folic acid and potassium and has significant trace minerals such as copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc and selenium. Of course, soil quality matters when it comes to the micronutrient uptake of the plant. Fennel needs to be grown in healthy, replenished soil containing abundant amounts of those minerals in the first place— yet another good reason to buy from farmers who follow good organic practices of rebuilding soil through cover cropping and crop rotation.

Fennel is also one of the three main components of absinthe, a high-alcohol spirit

which was created initially as a medical elixir in 18th century Switzerland. The high potency of the spirit eventually led to international bans on its production and consumption, but in recent decades it has become a popular cocktail ingredient.

Pollen and Seeds of Wild Fennel

While most fennel recipes will call for fennel bulbs, the plant offers much more to cook with.

There are flowers and pollen that can be harvested from wild fennel (usually referred to as anise and although in the same family, considered a different plant) and seeds, too.

Wild anise grows abundantly in North America alongside roads and in open fields from the coast to inland, and as long as you can be sure that the wild fennel is not contaminated by herbicide sprays, you can collect the pollen and seeds yourself.

There is a sweet spot of time when the pollen is loose and can be harvested. Too early and the flowers will still be closed, too late and you will be harvesting the seeds.

Simply bend the flowering anise into a brown bag and shake it gently.

Once the anise has pollinated and the flower dies, it will set seed and you can then collect the seed heads to dry and use for various dishes.

Seeds can be smashed to release the compounds and used for tea to help calm an upset stomach and help digestion. The seeds can also be chewed whole to naturally freshen the breath.

Fennel seeds are used to season Italian sausages and in Indian and Middle Eastern cooking.

When using the seeds in savory dishes, the aromatics are best released by toasting the seeds in a pan on medium until brown. When using in sweet dishes like breads and cookies, it is best to use raw, as heating changes them from sweet to spicy.

Both fennel seeds and pollen are commonly used in chutneys, meat dishes and breads. Look for green fennel seeds when buying because that means they are fresh since they tend to lose color as they age. Purchasing pollen costs about $15 per ounce, so that is some motivation for foraging your own. Fennel needs adequate water to produce bulbs with good flavor—a consideration if our fouryear drought returns after this winter’s rains. But the benefit of growing your own fennel means being able to reap all parts of the fennel plant, fresh from your own back yard.

The three main seed varieties grown locally are Victorio, for planting into the spring, Zefa Fino, a tried and true old variety for planting in the spring or summer, and Orion, for planting in the fall.

It is best to plant fennel in the ground from transplants as the weeds can quickly overtake directly sown fennel seeds. Space plants 6 inches apart in rich soil with a slightly alkaline pH range of 6.5–7.5. Harvest 50 days for baby and 80 for full-size bulbs.

Letting the fennel go to flower will offer food to pollinators and other beneficial insects, as well as provide flowers, pollen and seeds for culinary projects in the kitchen.

It is my hope as a fennel-growing farmer that you are inspired to try this amazing vegetable that other countries have been enjoying for many years. Or next time I end up with excess fennel, I will attempt to turn it into absinthe, which I am sure would sell better than the raw vegetable.

Jamie Collins is owner of Serendipity Farms and has been growing organic row crops at the mouth of Carmel Valley since 2001. She distributes her produce through a CSA, u-picks and farmers’ markets.

RECIPES: See p. 26 for LionFish SupperClub chef Zachary Mazi’s recipes for Braised

Pork Belly and Sweet Potato Gratin with

Fennel and see www.ediblemontereybay.com/ recipes for Quick Pickled Fennel.

LOCAL FOODS IN SEASON MARCH, APRIL, MAY

Fruits Apricots* • Avocados • Blackberries* • Cactus Pears* • Grapefruit** • Kumquats** • Lemons • Limes** Mandarins** • Oranges • Pomelos** • Rhubarb** • Strawberries

Vegetables Artichokes • Arugula • Asparagus • Beets • Bok Choy • Broccoli • Broccoli Raab • Brussels Sprouts Burdock • Cabbage • Cardoons • Carrots • Cauliflower • Celeriac*** • Celery*** • Chard • Chicory • Collards • Cress Dandelion • Endive • Fava Beans and Greens • Fennel • Garlic • Horseradish • Kale • Kohlrabi • Leeks • Mushrooms Mustard Greens • Nettles • Onions • Orach • Parsnips • Peas** • Pea Shoots • Potatoes • Radishes • Rutabagas** Shallots • Spinach • Sprouts • Squash • Sunchokes • Turnips * May only ** March and April only ***April and May only

Fish Abalone • Crab, Dungeness# • Grenadier, Pacific • Halibut, California • Lingcod, Pacific • Rock Cod, aka Snapper or Rockfish • Sablefish, aka Black Cod • Salmon, King • Sanddabs, Pacific • Seabass, White • Sole (Dover and Petrale) • Spot Prawns • Squid

All fish listed are rated “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program and are found in abundance in local waters. See www.seafoodwatch.org for more information. #As of press time, a ban still applied to local Dungeness crab due to toxin levels related to the El Niño weather pattern, and it was unclear whether the moratorium would be lifted this spring. Research assistance provided by Real Good Fish and Serendipity Farms.

Braised Pork Belly and Sweet Potato Gratin with Fennel

Courtesy Zachary Mazi, chef, LionFish SupperClub in Santa Cruz

Serves 8

Sweet Potato Gratin 2 teaspoons nutmeg 1 teaspoon allspice 5 teaspoons salt, or to taste 1 teaspoon pepper 2 pounds sweet potatoes, orange, sliced into thin rounds 6 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated 2 cups heavy cream 6 slices bacon, cooked and broken into pieces

Preheat oven to 400° F. Combine salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice. In an 8 by 8-inch casserole dish lined with parchment paper, arrange sliced sweet potato in layers, followed by salt and spices, and then grated Parmesan and some bacon. Repeat layers using even amounts of ingredients until they are all used. Pour heavy cream over layers and top with Parmesan. Cover and bake until a chopstick easily pierces gratin, about 1 hour.

Cover baked gratin with parchment paper. Place similar casserole dish on top with heavy weight (cans of tomatoes, etc.) and press overnight in refrigerator. (It is OK if some of the liquid squeezes out of the sides; you may want to place the whole project on a cookie sheet to catch the drips.)

The following day, flip casserole dish and remove the cold, pressed gratin. Slice off rough edges to make 8 squares. (And enjoy the scraps while you plate your meal.)

Braised Pork Belly

2 pounds pork belly, skin off, cut into 8 pieces 2 tablespoons salt 1 tablespoon candy cap mushroom powder* 2 teaspoons black pepper 1 fennel bulb, cored and julienned (greens reserved) 2 leeks 4 tablespoons maple syrup 4 tablespoons bourbon 1 orange, juiced ½ cup water 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Garnish 2 tablespoons fennel flowers** Greens from 1 fennel bulb

Combine candy cap mushroom powder with salt and pepper and rub into pork on all sides. Allow pork to sit for 2 to 4 hours with salt rub.

Meanwhile, combine maple syrup, orange juice, bourbon, water and Worcestershire sauce and set aside. Core and julienne fennel bulb and halve leeks, white part only. Arrange leeks on the bottom of a deep oven pan with heavy lid (or one with a lip so foil will hold in steam), and cover with julienned fennel.

Pat pork belly dry, and sear on very high heat to get a rich, bronzed brown on all sides. Then lay pork belly on top of the vegetables, pour liquid over the top and cover tightly When fork or knife pierces pork with ease, remove pork belly and chop fennel and leeks roughly. In a saucepan on the stove, reduce braising liquid to half its volume.

To serve, reheat gratin pieces in 300° F oven until hot and browning on top. In center of each plate, lay some braised fennel and leeks. Arrange one piece each of hot gratin and braised pork belly on top of fennel and leeks. (See photo.)

Garnish the top of the belly and gratin with fennel greens and fennel flowers. Drizzle some of the reduced poaching liquid around the plate, or get fancy and make dots, or whatever makes your eyes happy. Now make your mouth happy and eat!

*Dried candy cap mushrooms may be purchased from local specialty food stores such as Stone Creek Kitchen in Monterey or from chef Mazi in Santa Cruz (chefzack@lionfishsc.com) and pulverized in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder. **If you don’t have fennel growing in your garden, look for fennel flowers at the farmers’ market. Or substitute fennel pollen, available at specialty food stores.

LionFish SupperClub • www.lionfishsc.com