In the course of clearing out the summer plants from the garden, we took out our remaining fennel plants (one of which we had cut already in order to dry the feathery leaves to be used later - apparently if brewed as tea it is good for the digestion!), which happened to be neighboring the parsnips. Much to our surprise, the tap root of the fennel plant was quite large and looked nearly identical to a parsnip! So much so in fact that we had to take a good look and make sure it was indeed attached to a fennel plant. Which brings me to the challenge part of the post... Take a look at the photo below, which is a lineup of a mixture of fennel roots and parsnips, and see if you can tell the difference! I'll have to think of some prize to award anyone who correctly identifies all of them in the comments below (unless of course the difficulty was mine and you all get them all right). :)
Anyway, this resemblance made us rather curious if indeed this enlarged tap root was edible. After some online searching, the only thing that was clear was that there is a lot of confusion surrounding this poor plant, about what should be called root, bulb, stem, etc (not to mention between the herb fennel and the vegetable fennel). I did finally find one forum in which a few different people successfully ate it without dying or suffering any ill side effects, so we decided to give it a shot.
The idea was to make a soup, using other root vegetables as well as the small fennel 'bulbs' we had (they had been developing nicely, then when we came back from vacation this summer we found they had gone tall and weedy instead of developing the proper enlarged base that makes the vegetable fennel). However, we were also curious what it tasted like on its own, so I decided to dice it up and boil it until tender. The chunks we sampled weren't bad, but to be honest, didn't actually taste of much; they were just a bit starchy like a potato, but not as tasty. So considering these results and at the suggestion of a friend (thanks for the idea Lizzie!), I simply used a handheld blender to whiz up the chunks in the water they boiled in to use to thicken the soup.
The soup was made with the small fennel bulbs, Savoy cabbage, parsnip, carrots and a beet from our garden, potatoes, onions and white beans. Start by sautéeing the onions in a large pan, then add the other vegetables chopped along with some of the fennel tops and cover with chicken stock. Add the fennel root thickener & a few splashes of worcester sauce, season, and leave to simmer until everything is tender.
Serve as-is, or topped with a bit of fresh cream and/or fresh herbs or chopped chives. If you're not a big fan of that anise flavor, don't worry, this soup was actually very light and subtle, not overpowering on that front at all. We also used quite a bit of cabbage, and so made the soup in our large stockpot to have room for it all. It actually lasted us nearly a whole week, which considering it was only for the price of a few onions, potatoes and a can of beans was quite a good deal!
I am really surprised at the similarity between the fennel and parsnips. I certainly can't tell them apart -although perhaps the fennel has the side roots? But then I have grown parsnips like that!
The soup looks good and it is a genius idea to thicken it with the fennel pulp. I like the aniseed flavour of fennel so I am sure this is a soup I would love.
Posted by: Judith | November 18, 2010 at 12:36
Thanks! It turned out really tasty. I'll let you know if your guess is right after others have had a chance to try :)
Posted by: Laura | November 18, 2010 at 13:37
I'm guessing from left to right--fennel, fennel,
parsnip, fennel, parsnip parsnip. :)
Posted by: Mary | November 19, 2010 at 06:12
Wow, I am usually so good at things like this but you got me stumped on this one. Here is my guess from left to right - fennel, fennel, parsnip, parsnip, parsnip.:)
I have never tried eating fennel root, but do have a couple plants that are past their prime in the garden so perhaps I should before the ground freezes. My fennel bulbs never ever get very big, but we still enjoy growing the plant and using it in dishes for that nice licorice flavor.
Posted by: Mike | November 19, 2010 at 14:45
Oh, and your soup sounds and looks absolutely delicious.:)
Posted by: Mike | November 19, 2010 at 14:49
I had a feeling you might be a strong contender :) Got some pretty different guesses coming in here... I will reveal the answer on Tuesday!
Posted by: Laura | November 20, 2010 at 17:07
Sounhds lovely Laura, must try that some time. Only thing I usually leave fennel roots in the ground, as they re-grow every year as perennials. Oh and the roots: f-f-p-f-f-p ?
Posted by: Heiko | November 21, 2010 at 10:05
This is TOO difficult for words!!
My guess (and it is just that, because I have eaten parsnips that look like ALL of those) is
Parsnip, Fennel x 3, parsnip, parsnip.
Sue xx
Posted by: Sue | November 22, 2010 at 18:01
Alright....drumroll please...and the winner is....Heiko! With a 100% correct identification of fennel, fennel, parsnip, fennel, fennel, parsnip.
Congratulations! And thanks to everyone who submitted a guess :)
Posted by: Laura | November 23, 2010 at 08:24
And actually as Heiko mentioned, as a perennial normally the roots would be left in the ground, which perhaps explains why they aren't known for cooking with. But we realized we hadn't put them in a very good place, both for its own growth, and because we didn't know when we planted that fennel is pretty much the anti-companion plant, harmful to most other garden vegetables that might be growing near it (which might be why our cauliflower failed so miserably actually). So next year we are going to sequester it in the small patch next to the contained mint bed.
Posted by: Laura | November 23, 2010 at 08:30
Now you've got me thinking about it a lot of the carrot family has bulbous tendencies: carrots & parsnips (obviously) but also celery/celeriac, chervil/bulbous chervil, parsley/hamburg parsley... and now fennel/bulbous fennel!
You could now save seed from the most bulbous plants and keep selecting for a few generations create a whole bulbous fennel master race and take over the planet. Kind of.
Posted by: Max | November 24, 2010 at 07:49
Mwahahahaa...I like how you think! :)
Posted by: Laura | November 24, 2010 at 08:26
Love it. Happy new year to you, and a great 2011 to all!
Posted by: Val | January 11, 2011 at 06:07
Thanks, and happy new year to you too!
Posted by: Laura | January 11, 2011 at 07:51
This post was very helpful! I just spent 20 minutes searching for ways to eat/cook fennel root and likewise, found a lot of misinformation out there. Your blog is the only answer I've found so far that fennel root can indeed be eaten. I'm glad that I an put my roots to use.
I am confused by your comment that fennel is a perennial and that the root should be left in the ground. If you cut off the bulb and stem, but leave the root in, will the plant regrow? Thanks for your help!
Posted by: Emily | September 12, 2011 at 03:19
Hi Emily, I'm glad you found the post useful!
In warmer climes fennel can make it as a perennial, yeah (exactly as you said, harvest the bulb and leave the root), but I don't think it would last through a Montana winter unfortunately!
Posted by: Laura | September 14, 2011 at 18:19