How to Cut Fennel

Most fresh fennel bulbs will come with fronds and stem attached. Remove and discard this portion of the vegetable. You can put the whole bunch in a stock if you like. Or, the frond makes a great garnish. It looks like dill and has an intense anise flavor.

Fennel bulbs are stored without their roots, so they'll usually have some brown areas on the surface and at the region where the roots were removed. Slice a little from the root area, then peel away the outer layer if it's too brown.

Slice the bulb in half from stem to root. Try to halve the bulb at its widest diameter. Shoot for symmetrical halves.

Continue by tipping the halves and slicing off wedges. This technique is great if you want to simply braise the fennel, which serves well as a side with fish or pork.

How to Cut Fennel Into Wedges

I love to braise fennel wedges in butter. They go great with most fish dishes.

Braised Fennel

I love the texture of braised fennel. Something like an artichoke heart.

As you would dice an onion, you can dice fennel by first slicing slits from root to tip without actually cutting through the root side, then slicing perpendicular to those cuts. Diced fennel makes a great addition to a mire poix in a beef or fish stew.

How to Dice Fennel

How to dice fennel. This would be helpful if you wanted to add fennel to a mire poix, which would be a great idea for maybe a fish or beef stew.

If you have a mandolin slicer, shaved fennel is a fresh addition to a salad. Quarter the bulb and slice it as thin as possible. Shaved fennel has a sharp texture and a citrusy flavor that goes great with olive oil, arugula and lemon.

How to Shave Fennel

Thinly sliced fennel, great for raw preparations, in a salad or on a crudo.