Anyone eat fennel?! I have lots in the garden right now, and I am always looking for new ways to get my little gardeners to eat it. It is a great host plant for Black Swallowtails. The plant attracts the entire life cycle of the butterfly (eggs, larvae and chrysalis), which my little gardeners love, but some of it needs to be harvested this spring!
Fennel tastes like a combination of celery, licorice and leeks and is used in many Mediterranean dishes. It can be eaten from the top to the bottom as all parts are useful. The bulb part is our favorite and should be pale green and firm when harvested. Flowers on the stalk indicate that the plant is past its prime and should not be selected. Unwashed fennel bulbs should be stored in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. When ready to use it, wash and cut bulb in half to remove the hard core.
Our favorite way to eat fennel is in our chili and lasagna! The little gardeners never notice. Here are some other delicious recipes I have found online:
Fish with Fennel & Tomato This recipe calls for tilapia, but any white fish will do!
Braised Chicken with Fennel and Apples
Tomato – Fennel Soup with Brie Toast
Please feel free to share your fennel recipes in the comments!!!
Congratulation to Kayla, Dee, and Irineo! They were selected as the winners of our spring seed giveaway! We are excited to announce another giveaway next week! Sponsored by the awesome Aquarian Bath! Stay tuned for details…
Backyard FL Gardening 
I have to admit, I’m not a fennel fan. But I’m happy to grow some for the cats! We host several types in our backyard and give them away to kids via Craig’s List, so that they can learn about the life cycle of the various butterflies. Fun, fun!
Enjoy your fennel!
Fennel is definitely an acquired taste! 😉 That’s awesome that you share them with local kids. Good idea. What do the cats do with them? I have never seen mine mess with the fennel.
I’ve never grown fennel, but the Eastern Black Swallowtails love parsley, too. So beautiful!!! Fennel is delicious, though…
We eat too much parsley to ever see it bloom. But good to know we will have to plant some for the butterflies. 🙂
Awesome! Happy Spring to you!