summer CSA, week 7

[cellio]

• bunch basil
• bunch scallions
• head red lettuce
• head green cabbage
• four large light-red beets (don't know what variety), with greens (edit: they turned out to be golden yellow inside)
• bunch red kale
• one fennel
• one bulb garlic
• half pint? blueberries
• two zucchini

(Small share omitted lettuce and fennel. Both sizes were slated to get Roma beans but we didn't; I don't know if they did. Cabbage was not originally on our list but was for the small share. Garlic wasn't on either list.)

I was anticipating more blueberries and planning to make cobbler. Maybe I'll combine with peaches for that? I already got the vanilla ice cream that goes with cobbler. :-)

I haven't cooked with fennel before. What's the best way to use those delicate greens?

Comments

[dsrtao]

Fennel tastes like licorice. Most people shave it and use it as an accent.

You can roast it -- probably pairs well with carrots.

Mostly I use fennel seeds in sausage recipes.

[hudebnik]

The only times I ever buy fennel are to make a batch of le Menagier's "spinach tart" (see Cariadoc's Miscellany), which also calls for beet greens, chervil, and (obviously) spinach. A few days ago I got a big bag of beet greens for free at the farmer's market because they cut off the greens at the moment a customer wants beet roots. And we have chervil growing in pots on the front porch.

[shewhomust]

Your fennel does seem lighter on bulb, heavier on stem than I'm used to. It makes a good risotto, and you could probably slice those stems finely enough to avoid problems of stringiness: add as much of the chopped greenery as you want at the last minute.

If you eat fidh, fennel is a traditional accompaniment. And yes, goes well with carrots.

[richardf8]

The greens I usually use as a garnish for whatever i’ve made with the bulbs and the stems.

A mirepoix of fennel, carrot and onion is foundational fosr a tagine.

Grapefruit Fennel and Spinach with Feta makes a nice salad.