Fennel is one of those vegetables that often gets overlooked at the farmers market or grocery store simply because it looks unfamiliar. But once you know how to prep it, fennel becomes one of the most versatile real food ingredients in your kitchen — delicious roasted, tossed in salads, or added to soups. In this quick kitchen tip, Krista shows you exactly what a fennel bulb is, which parts to use, and how to slice or dice it with ease.
What Does Fennel Look Like?
A fennel bulb has a round, pale white base (the bulb), with thick stalks and feathery green fronds on top. You’ll sometimes find them with the fronds fully intact at the farmers market — simply trim those off the same way as the stalks. The bulb is the part you’ll use for cooking.
What You’ll Need
- A chef’s knife
- A cutting board
How to Cut a Fennel Bulb — Step by Step
- Trim the stalks — cut across the top of the bulb where the stalks begin; discard the stalks and fronds (or save fronds as an herb garnish — they’re edible!)
- Trim the base — cut a thin slice off the rough bottom of the bulb
- Create a flat surface — stand the bulb upright on the trimmed base for a stable cutting surface
- Slice or dice:
For roasting: slice into ¼-inch pieces — these roast up beautifully and develop a mild, slightly sweet flavor
For salads or dicing: after slicing, rotate and crosscut into small diced pieces
What Does Fennel Taste Like?
Raw fennel has a mild anise (licorice-like) flavor that mellows significantly when roasted. If you’ve been hesitant about fennel because of its smell, roasting it is the best introduction — it becomes sweet, caramelized, and delicious.
Video Transcript
“So this is a fennel bulb. And sometimes you’ll find them with lots and lots of leaves — you would also trim these off just the same. But when it comes to the fennel, I trim it right here, and then I trim right here. So then from here, you can slice it just like this. It does make it a little easier for you to have a flat surface. And then I like to quarter-inch slice it. And then you could also dice it, of course. But to put on salads, to roast — a lot of times we like to roast it just like that — but then of course if you wanted to dice it, you could do that. But basically, throw it on salads, roast it, it’s delicious.”