Fennel
Fennel: popular as a vegetable in Italy, it can be thinly sliced and eaten plain or as part of a vegetable platter. It is often served with just salt and olive oil as a simple appetizer or salad course. It can be chopped up into salad as celery, and indeed used almost anywhere celery is used. It was a popular herb in the ancient world of the Greeks and Romans.
Liz's Fennel Recipe
2 bunches small red onions
2 bulbs fennel, cleaned and quartered
2 tbsp. good olive oil
Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 to 3 tbsp. parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in bottom of roasting pan. Coat onions and fennel by rolling in pan. Pepper lightly. Cover with foil and seal tightly. Roast for 35 minutes until tender when pierced with fork. Uncover, sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and coat with parmesan. Cook uncovered at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes (til parmesan melts and lightly browned.) - Liz K. in SF
