Wild fennel cakes are the best fennel frond recipe I know. Unlike most fennel recipes, it calls specifically for the fronds, greens and stalks of the plant. If you've ever wondered what you can do with fennel greens and fronds this is what you've been looking for.
Wild fennel is one of the most invasive plants I've ever seen, growing in massive stands on the West Coast. It's similar to your garden variety fennel, looking near identical, but with one big difference: there's not really a bulb.
More than shaved fennel
During my chef tenure I learned by example that the best thing you could do with fennel was shaved fennel salad--the green fronds and stems usually being tossed into a stock pot, which is basically another way of throwing them away. The seeds, being so ubiquitous, are good too, with the wild ones being much better than conventional. But fennel is so much more.
While I researched recipes for my book I read a number of resources covering traditional European wild foods, and I was surprised when I came across wild fennel frond recipes.
Cooking fennel fronds
I'd tried cooking with fennel stems and greens before, but the greens don't take well to the typical restaurant technique of quickly blanching before reheating as the delicate fronds have a shorter cooking time than the stems which never seemed to get tender. Seeing the traditional recipes (Tsigarelli is a good example) inspired me to give fennel greens another shot, and I'm really glad I did.
Sure, the internet will show you different things you can do with fennel stalks and fronds, but most of them are raw, and treat the fronds as an herb, rather than a cooking green, as in the forgettable fennel-frond pesto. Raw, in small amounts, the frilly fronds can be ok, but, just like carrot greens, their flavor and texture are way better cooked as a leafy green.
"Cooking" here is a bit of an understatement, for the best texture, fennel fronds and stalks need a long boil in water until they're tender and taste good to you, which can take anywhere from 15-20 minutes--a lifetime in typical vegetable cooking.
By the time the stems get tender, the green parts may start to lose their integrity and get soft, but, cooked tender and fried up with a little garlic, hot chili and olive oil, the only thing you'll notice is a mild-tasting green with a subtle anise flavor more pronounced than in its fresh state.
The cakes here made from fennel fronds and stems seem to be a relatively common Italian recipe for wild fennel-one that I was inspired to try some after reading about California forager Angelo Garro making them for Michael Pollen in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma.
You take a big pile of wild or cultivated fennel greens, simmer them until tender, chop them up, mix with a little egg, breadcrumb and parmesan, make them into little cakes and fry them up. They're delicious, and they may just change how you cook with the plant, since now, whenever I buy fennel, I look for bulbs with the greens attached, instead of just the bulb.
Obviously wild fennel is optimal here as they have more greens, but either will work. Serve them with a shaved fennel salad to appreciate the whole plant.
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Wild Fennel Green Cakes
Ingredients
- 8 oz fennel fronds from wild fennel or the leafy green stalks of two cultivated fennel bulbs
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup finely grated parmesan
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon toasted ground wild or cultivated fennel seed
- Suggestion of lemon zest
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- Fresh ground black pepper to taste
- Cooking oil as needed
Serving as pictured (optional)
- ½ cup Aioli, preferably homemade, to taste
- Shaved fennel salad
- Sliced oranges, skin removed
- a handful of fresh watercress
Instructions
- Bring a gallon of salted water to a boil and cook the fennel fronds, whole, for 15 minutes at a steady simmer.
- Taste a piece of the fennel fronds at this point to gauge the texture, if it’s soft enough for you, remove, or cook a few minutes more, tasting here and there until it’s just right.
- When you’re pleased with them (they will get tender) remove to a colander to drain and cool to room temperature (resist the urge to shock them in cold water).
- Squeeze the fronds dry, then chop finely and mix with the remaining ingredients. Heat a pan with a film or oil, take a small portion of the fennel mixture, mold it into a small test patty and cook to test the seasoning and set.
- If the cakes are hard to flip, add some extra breadcrumbs, if they taste mild, add a pinch of salt. When you’re ready to cook the cakes, take 2 tablespoons at a time and form into patties, then brown well in oil on both sides. Serve the cakes topped with a small dollop of aioli.
Serving as pictured
- For a nice fennel salad, cut a bulb of fennel vertically, then shave thin on a mandoline. Toss the shaved fennel with salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and a handful of fresh watercress, along with some herbs if you have them (mint and basil are nice). Double check the seasoning, adjust until it tastes good to you, and serve with a few slices of orange, pared of it's skin, cut into slices.
Amanda
Oh my god, finally, a recipe for fennel fronds that doesn't make me feel like I'm chewing on hair.
This was FANTASTIC, and my sometimes-reluctant-to-try-new-foods spouse loved the fritters too. I only had one bulb, so I cut the recipe in half and it worked out just fine. Will definitely try out the pressure cooker idea next time, because this took a while and sucked up a burner.
By the way, used gruyere because we had some we were trying to use up. Used caraway seeds instead of fennel seeds. Tasted great! If I were swimming in fennel, I'd probably freeze a bunch for a hit of green in the winter (living in Minnesota, the winter is long...).
Thank you, I'll quit gushing now.
Alan Bergo
Hahaha. I feel you on the fennel fronds being like hair. They're great boiled too-if you get some young ones try horta or tsigarelli.
Amy Nicole
I make this recipe every time I buy fennel. Every. Single. Time. It’s my favorite Alan Bergo recipe - 10/10.
Alan Bergo
Hey thanks Amy.
Bette
I found your recipe after being convinced not to leave the fennel fronds behind at the farmers market today. I did use the lemon zest but omitted the fennel seed because I don’t own any and really didn’t want to buy it. I added 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes and topped with tzatziki instead of aioli. Very good and would def make again. I might try a mix of fennel and carrot fronds next time. Thank you!
Alan Bergo
Thanks Bette. Love the variations.
Lenny Russo
I highly object to your characterization of throwing fennel tops into a stock pot as being the same as throwing them away. Fennel tops are an important component of my recipes for court-bouillon and fish fumet. You might also remember that we would lightly fry the fronds, sprinkle them with sea salt and garnish fish and stews with them. HAVE I TAUGHT YOU NOTHING?
All joking aside, the recipe you presented is close to my heart. As you well know, I was born into an Italian immigrant family, and fennel was a mainstay of our cuisine. In fact, I am not very fond of sweets, and fresh raw fennel was my childhood post-dinner treat. It is a wonderful digestive aid as well a natural breath freshener besides tasing pretty amazing. We use fennel in our salads here at home and cultivate it when the season permits.
Alan Bergo
Haha, thanks boss. I agree on the fumet. Cooking them as a vegetable was the big takeaway for me.
Johanna
Looks like a great recipe and I will definitly give it a go. Combination with the cheese will be nice.
I love fennel and have let it go wild in my garden. Thru the years have done a lot of experimenting and based on that below some other recomendations for fennel fronds:
- make a fennel frond/walnut pesto
- fresh herbal fennel tea, good for the digestion
- fennel meat balls. I chop the fronds quite fine and add them to ground meat with some additional ground fennel seeds.
Other than the fronds I also harvest the flowers when they are fresh and use them in salads. Or I dry them when they can be mixed with salt of be left as is. Great on eggs or fennel pasta or risoto.
Alan Bergo
Thanks Johanna.
Dan F
I love fennel. I just finished a delicious salmon dinner of with a fennel cake and the salad on the side. I used a little fennel pollen as well as the toasted seeds in the cakes for an extra boost of the fennel flavor. Thanks for the tip, Alan! Its a winner!
Ellen Hopman
I make a home made liqueur with the greens - just soak them in vodka and a little honey for about six months and then strain. Gorgeous.
Alan Bergo
This sounds so good. Does it turn dark over time? Most of my green macerations have.
Charlie DeSando
Very creative and delicious
Krista
We grow wild fennel that was brought by Italians to California in the 19th century and planted all over. I collected seeds from wild fennel growing in the hills above Cupertino, and planted it in my upstate NY garden. The plants produce fabulous pollen and seeds in addition to prolific amounts of greenery. Pollinators love it. I am so happy to find this recipe and can’t wait to make it this spring! Try adding the fronds and/or seeds to a briny white clam sauce. It goes together perfectly.
Nina
Interesting way to fix wild fennel. My question here is -do you think that I could use bronze fennel in the same way? It doesn't make a bulb either. I grow it for the seed and because it's gorgeous in the herb garden but really, other than a tea, have not found a use for it. What do you think?
Alan Bergo
Hmmm, I don't think I'd recommend it. Bronze fennel is more aromatic, so it makes a great herb to toss in fresh in salads. At least the ones I've harvested from don't seem to make large amounts of above-ground greens either. Wild fennel is a scourge and is super prolific, producing large amounts of greens and stems. Our growing season is short for it here and it also doesn't grow well though. I would add some bronze fennel to a salad of shaved fennel, or a smaller amount to the cooked greens mixture before cooking as you would an herb.
Denise Cicuto
I love this recipe! We have a mix of green and bronze fennel in our garden. The bronze worked just fine and wasn’t overpowering.
Dotty
You are such an artist! Your photos make me want to eat them right now!
Sam Schaperow
This sounds like a great way to use the non bulb part of the fennel. If getting wild or simply growing one's own fennel, I wonder if someone should gather the fennel pollen and then get the greens. There wouldn't be a tenderness issue? Growing fennel from seed, a person I was thinking should be able to use fennel seeds found in the Spice Isles of grocery and ethnic stores, as long as those seeds are not rendered infertile by something such as too much heat. For cooking the fennel, my thought is the most efficient way would be, if someone has it, to use a pressure cooker set to maybe two minutes and then slow-release so it keeps cooking for a longer time, but without needing power.
Alan Bergo
I know some seeds are rendered unusable for propagation but I don't have a lot of experience growing plants so I can't really speak to it. A pressure cooker should work fine as all you're doing is hammering the fennel until it's soft. It takes a while!
sylvie
Sam, Lots of seeds sold for food - especially imported - are irradiated to remove fungus/diseases/parasites, and renders prohibits the seed from germinating. It is very easy to find fennel seeds for the garden: many seed companies have them.
Melanie
We brought home one little wild fennel plant some years ago and now it's coming everywhere. This recipe is excellent! I'm so happy to have found a use for our wild fennel. I will make this often.
Alan Bergo
Glad it worked for you Melanie!