Fennel Seeds can be sprinkled on chicken along with orange juice and olives for a delicious main dish. Other main dishes that use the flavor of Fennel include pasta. For a quick dinner, add olive oil, green onion and garlic to diced tomatoes and season with fennel, then pour the sauce over small shell pasta and toss with parmesan cheese. Or try Fennel with artichoke hearts, lemon juice and your favorite diced leftover meat served over pasta for another variation of a pasta dinner.

Botanical Name: Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce

Common Names: Large fennel, sweet fennel, wild fennel, finocchio, carosella, Florence fennel

A popular culinary herb and vegetable throughout European history, fennel continues to be widely consumed today. A member of the Apiaceae family, Foeniculum vulgare hosts umbels of sweet-smelling golden flowers that ripen into a fruit known as fennel seed. Fennel seeds gently support healthy functioning of the digestive system and was traditionally used after meals as a tea to relieve occasional gas and bloating. Fennel seeds are used by incorporating their aromatics and flavor in a host of culinary dishes and can also be used in herbal tea blends or for tincturing.

You can make a vegetable-based soup that features butternut squash that has been roasted and then pureed, and add Fennel to heighten the flavor of the dish. Salads are excellent with Fennel and fresh orange slices as ingredients.

Barbecued foods benefit from a sprinkling of Fennel Seed herb. You can include Fennel in a spice rub that can be used on chicken or poultry. Sausage often contains Fennel as a seasoning, and you can add it to loose ground sausage to create wonderful sausage burgers that can be served with all the trimmings.