Meatless Monday: Grilled Fennel

Summertime and the grillin’ is easy!

When the weather is hot, who wants to cook indoors in a hot kitchen when you

can be outside in the fresh air and sunshine whipping up delicious dishes on

the grill.

What to grill besides burgers and other cookout faves?

That’s never a problem.

There are so many delectable foods to choose from.

Almost any vegetable can taste delicious grilled.

And fennel is one of them.

Fennel is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal uses and, along

with the similar-tasting anise, is one of the primary ingredients of absinthe.

Florence fennel or finocchio has a swollen, bulb-like stem base that is used as a vegetable.

Fennel has a very distinct licorice flavor and when it’s grilled becomes a tender, melt-in-

your-mouth experience you don’t want to miss.

This is no run of the mill herb either–it’s been favored for centuries.

In Greek mythology, for instance, Prometheus used the stalk of a fennel plant to steal fire

from the demigods!

The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the fennel plant are widely used in many of the culinary and

medicinal traditions of the world.

The leaves are delicately flavored and similar in shape to those of dill.

The bulb is a crisp vegetable that can be sautéed, stewed, braised, grilled, or eaten raw.

Young tender leaves are used for garnishes, as a salad, to add flavor to salads, to flavor sauces

as well as soups.

What’s Cooking? Grilled Fennel

Ingredients:

Organic Fennel
Cold-pressed Organic Olive oil
Sea Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Trim the tops off the fennel.

The stringy parts can be used as an herb in your cooking, but aren’t needed for this recipe.

You can even use the stalks in place of celery in some recipes, but realize they’ll have a much

stronger flavor than celery.

Trim the bottom of the bulb and then cut the remaining bulb lengthwise into quarters.

Rub with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Place on grill at medium heat to sear the fennel.

Move to indirect heat, with the cut side up, and cook covered for about 45 minutes or until

fennel is very soft.

You can tell when it’s done by texture, rather than time.

You definitely want to make sure it’s tender.

Serve it up and enjoy!

Now that you know how tasty it is, here’s a little more information about this delectable

herb.

Medicinal Uses 

Fennel contains anethole, which can explain some of its medical effects; it, or its

polymers, act as phytoestrogens.

For the Intestinal Tract

Fennel is widely employed as a carminative, both in humans and in veterinary medicine

to treat flatulence by encouraging the expulsion of intestinal gas.

Anethole is known to be responsible for the carminative action.

Fennel works as a mild laxative and an effective diuretic.

Fennel tea is made by pouring half a pint of boiling water on a teaspoonful of bruised

fennel seeds.

For the Eyes

Ancient Romans regarded fennel as the “herb of sight”.

In India, fennel seeds are also eaten raw, sometimes with some sweetener,

to improve eyesight.

Root extracts were often used in tonics to clear cloudy eyes.

For Coughs

Syrup prepared from fennel juice was formerly given for chronic coughs.

For Dysmenorrhea

The essence of fennel can be used as a safe and effective herbal drug for primary dysmenorrhea,

Herbal Flea Deterrent

Fennel is one of the plants which is said to be disliked by fleas, and powdered fennel has been used

to drive away fleas from kennels and stables.

Nutritional Profile

Photo source: Top photo: Fennel bulb

Photo source: Herbal chart

Image source: Nutritional Profile

Have you cooked or eaten fennel?

What are your favorite ways to prepare it?

Share your thoughts and comments with us.

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