National Culinary Review

She uses raw shaved fennel on a salad with Serrano ham, orange and grapefruit segments, arugula, Kalamata olives and red onion served with a citrus vinaigrette.

Raw shaved fennel also highlights her polenta soufflé, which is served with an antipasto salad with balsamic elixir that includes grilled radicchio, heirloom cherry tomatoes, olives, garlic, and roasted red and yellow peppers.

says Barking Frog’s Moore. “Fennel has
a little sweet flavor but is unique, and it
goes well with the crab without covering
it up—it allows you to keep the integrity.
Tarragon and fennel also pair well. It’s
all about balance. Not one ingredient is
showcased, but they all shine together
with super-clean flavors.”
incredibly expensive, but a little goes a
long way. It has a softer fennel flavor than
the seeds. Using the pollen is a soft and
gentle way to add flavor. I don’t use it to
cook a lot, but, rather, I finish things with
it, such as scallops.”
“Fennel is a dimension or flavor profile I like
to bring out,” Moore says. “I like olive and
fennel together, as they really complement
each other. I use a Greek medley of five
different types of olives.”

FENNEL POLLEN, PURÉE, SEEDS The crab salad at Barking Frog is topped with fennel pollen. “When we use ingredients, we try to use them a few times in the dish,” says Moore.

Hollander also uses fennel to make a purée for dishes such as a trio of little bites on grilled baguette that features a smoked scallop montadito with fennel purée, fennel salad, orange segments, Marcona almonds and basil.

Barking Frog also features shaved fennel in a number of dishes. Dungeness crab and pickled peaches salad includes fennel shaved super-thin. The peaches are pickled with jalapeño, and the dish is surrounded by a tarragon jus.

“Fennel pollen is just the pollen from
the fennel plant. You can buy it through
a produce company. It has an intense
licorice and fennel flavor and is pretty
pungent. It’s another little punch. I started
using the pollen three or four years ago.
You don’t see it a lot, but people are
becoming more aware of it.”
He makes a thick fennel purée that is
easy to work with. “I sweat onions and
add in fennel seed. Then, I deglaze a
chopped whole fennel bulb with dry white
wine and add it to the onion and fennel
seed purée,” he says. “Both types of
fennel help to heighten the intensity.”
“Fennel has that licorice flavor, and I feel
fennel and crab is such a natural pairing,”
Hollander at Marion Street Cheese
Market also uses fennel pollen. “It’s

Elijah Gurman, sous chef at Eden, Miami Beach, Fla., is a big fan of fennel. “Our restaurant uses it a lot, and I really like it for its great subtle flavor,” he says. “You can impart so much from the seeds, since they have a more pronounced flavor. The actual bulb is pretty subtle, and you get a bigger fennel punch from the seeds.” He uses fennel seeds in a sachet bag when stewing short ribs and sweet peppers. “Fennel pairs really well with