Normally fennel tastes like a cross between celery, cabbage, and licorice. Roasting, however, brings out an entirely new flavor – as if pine nuts decided to join the party.
Roasted Fennel Recipe
Ingredients

- 2 fennel bulbs (thick base of stalk), stalks cut off, bulbs halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise in 1-inch thick pieces
- Olive oil
- Balsamic vinegar
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.


2 Rub just enough olive oil over the fennel to coat. Sprinkle on some balsamic vinegar, also to coat. Line baking dish with Silpat or aluminum foil. Lay out the pieces of fennel and roast for 30-40 minutes, or until the fennel is cooked through and beginning to caramelize.
Yield: Serves 4.







I love fennel! I especially like it roasted with olive oil and a sprinkling of parmegiano which forms a ntty crust. I was told there are “male” and “female” bulbs, and that the female which are shorter, rounder, squatter are tastier or somehow “better’. The male bulbs are more elongated. I don’t know if this is true, but I’ve always searched out the round ones.
Do you have any suggestions on what to do with the stalks? I think they smell great and I’d hate to just waste them!
Hi, Mimsie.
On the Tony Tantillo site, he suggests the following for fennel stalks. Enjoy!
I’ve chopped up the stalks and the “leaves” to put in spaghetti sauce. The “leaves” are traditional in (meatless) spaghetti sauce for St Joseph’s day
This was a nice recipe, but I found that the baking time needed to be increased to 40+ minutes for the roasting to actually happen. At 15-20 minutes it was still pretty crunchy, and thus, not so flavorful.
Thanks for the feedback. When I made it again I increased the time and loved the result, so I’ve upped the cooking time in the recipe. ~Elise
Recently had a fennel and watermelon salad. It was wonderful! Light and refreshing. It had some type of dressing, possibly vinegar and sugar, but not sure. Any idea or recipe in the file?
Not yet, but sounds like a lovely combination. ~Elise
Elise,
I love roasted fennel (and even raw fennel), but I wanted to try BBQ’d fennel – shish kebab style. Do you think that will have the same effect, and what other vegetables would you suggest putting on the skewer?
Thanks!! Love your site :)
Great idea. I would suggest bell peppers, tomatoes, eggplant for veggies, and either pork or lamb for meat to go on a skewer with fennel. ~Elise
I was very excited to try this recipe, having never tasted fennel before I bit into one of the “fingers” and was delighted at the mix of flavors. But after roasting the bulb in olive oil and balsalmic, I was disappointed to find how bland the final result. Maybe I need to cook it longer?
You want to roast it enough so that the fennel is browned and the sugars from the balsamic vinegar and fennel get caramelized. That’s where the richness of flavor is going to come from. ~Elise
Thanks for this simple and effective recipe. I did it for about 40 mins, which led to nice caramelisation and slightly overdone veg (which is how I like it). I did them with carrots, which worked ok (though the carrots had a slightly stringy texture – is this normal when you roast them?) The grated parmesan gave a nice crust and flavour, and the fennel was as a roast veg should be – crispy on the outside but with a lovely virginal white softness to the inner leaves. The balsamic really makes its presence felt at the end of the roasting process, so use with caution unless you want it to dominate everything.
Fantastic recipe! So simple yet so delicious and elegant. The roasting does bring out a wonderful nutty flavor. Try pairing it with wine and serving as an appetizer. I ended up using the remainder of the fennel feathers as a pretty garnish while adding some extra fresh flavor. Thank you for posting this recipe. One of my favorites!
Thank-you for the encouragement to try fennel for our very FIRST time! Looking forward to experimenting a bit more next time :)
Made this early this morning and it was delicious. I roasted it for 40 mins for more carmelization. It indeed tasted like licorice but better to me. Loved the crunch. This was my first time eating fennel but definitely not my last.
I put some of the feathers and one part of the bulb, in a soup base, turkey carcass, but after reading some of the comments here I will be putting in more. The soup is in a crock pot on low, will be letting it cook all night. Will let you know how it turned out. :)
Just tried this recipe for dinner and it was lovely. Super simple and goes well with chicken. I absolutely recommend it.
This is my first time trying fennel, it was in my CSA box and thought this is as good a time as any to try it.
Too much of the time we are influenced by others on produce we have never eaten before, for fennel it was I hate licorice and there for don’t want it with my food. however upon slicing the fennel I found the aroma to be more spicy kind of like smelling lemony, gingery, with a hint of licorice, mine are in the oven right now. I am looking forward to trying it more ways. Thanks Elise for a wonderful blog and post.