I meant to include this recipe during the holidays and forgot. It’s simple, inexpensive, and easy to throw together. If you have some fancy salt lying around (pink salt, black salt, etc.) use it, otherwise regular old table salt is fine.
You can serve this either as an appetizer or as an after dinner digestive. And it’s good any time of the year.. no reason to wait for the holidays. Oh, and if you’re serving this to anyone who is a bit of a blockhead, remember to instruct him/her to dip in the oil first then the salt and not the other way around.
Need This
1 large fennel bulb (preferably with the fronds still on)
Salt
Olive oil (extra virgin is best)
Do This
Remove the fennel fronds before washing and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. You can use them in soups, pasta dishes, omelets, or just about anything really.
Wash the fennel bulb under clean cold water then cut the bulb into quarters.
Cut out the hard core on the bottom of each of the quarters and discard.
Now pry apart the fennel bulb quarters with your fingers (it comes apart sort of like an onion).
Cut the fennel pieces into sticks about 2 to 3 inches in length.
Pile the fennel sticks onto a plate and serve with salt and olive oil on the side for dipping.*
Serves 4. My Cost approx. $ 2.47 total – about 62 cents per serving.
*If you’re not put off by double-dipping you can serve this family style, otherwise separate into individual servings. GMN