If you have ever wondered How to Cut Fennel, you have come to the right spot! This is a simple step-by-step tutorial on how to easily cut a bulb of fennel for all of your favorite recipes.
How To Cut Fennel
We love using fennel in a lot of really great recipes because it adds a really delicious and unique flavor! Our absolute favorite way to eat fennel is in our fennel salad. It is so light, refreshing and full of great flavors. We were definitely intimidated the first time we cut-up some fennel but after a little practice we have learned that it is actually pretty easy. Follow our simple steps below and you will find it easy too!
What You Will Need
- fennel bulb – you will need a large, clean bulb of fennel.
- sharp chef’s knife – make sure you have a large, sharp knife that can slice through the thickest part of the bulb – you could also use a mandolin, if you have one.
- cutting board – we love using a large wood cutting board, but as long as it is big enough for the fennel bulb it will work!
What is Fennel
Fennel is a vegetable that is a flowering species of the carrot family. The bulb is edible and, when eaten raw, has an anise flavor or taste similar to licorice – but this changes quite a bit when it is cooked! It is great in a variety of recipes!
What Part Of The Fennel Do You Cut Up
You will be removing the long green stems and cutting up the large white bulb at the base. This is the part that you can cut into thick slices, thin slices, dice, or mince into small pieces.
Do You Eat The Stems Of The Fennel
The long green stems of the fennel are edible but for this tutorial we are going to focus on how to cut up the thicker white bulb. On occasion we have use the fronds as a garnish, depending on the recipe that we are making.
Best Ways To Use Fennel
There are lots of different ways you can cook fennel from roasting to grilling. You can also toss it in your favorite soup or stews or you can even eat it raw in a salad, like our delicious fennel salad recipe or our winter stacked salad with fennel and pear. Let us know your favorite way to use fennel!
How To Cut Up Fennel
First, lay the fennel bulb on its side and cut off the little rough spot on the very bottom at the root end.
Taking a hold of the outer most green stalk, pull it off of the bulb and part of the bulb will come with it and taking all the dirt and grossness that goes along with it. As you can see in the picture below, the part of the bulb that came with the stalk covered almost the entire bulb. You may or may not need to take off 2 of these layers to totally remove the dirty outer layer. You can also take a vegetable peeler and peel off some dirt too if there is just a little left on the bulb after the first stalk is removed.
Cut off the stalk end right at the base by the bulb. After you are done you will be holding the actual fennel bulb. (Note: the greens can make a nice garnish)
Now take your fennel bulb and cut it in half.
Next you can carefully remove the core.
From there, you can slice, dice, mince….whatever your heart desires (or your recipe calls for).
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How to Cut Fennel
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 fennel bulb 1x
- Category: How-To
- Method: Counter Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
How to Cut up Fennel – a simple, step-by-step tutorial on how to cut up fennel. Perfect for all of your fennel recipes!
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb
Instructions
- Lay the fennel bulb on its side and cut off the little rough spot on the very bottom.
- Taking a hold of the outer most green stalk, pull it off of the bulb and part of the bulb will come with it and taking all the dirt and grossness that goes along with it. As you can see in the pictures, the part of the bulb that came with the stalk covered almost the entire bulb. You may or may not need to take off 2 of these layers to totally remove the dirty outer layer. You can also take a peeler and peel off some dirt too if there is just a little left on the bulb after the first stalk is removed.
- Cut off the remaining stalks right at their base by the bulb. After you are done you be holding the actual fennel bulb. (Note: the greens are not edible, but they can be a nice garnish).
- Take your fennel bulb and cut it in half.
- Remove the core by making two cuts at an angle on either side of the core.
- From there, you can slice, dice, mince, etc.
Originally published April 4, 2016.
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