Fennel: a versatile summer vegetable

With a production area of around 50 hectares, fennel may not be one of the most important vegetables in the German Rhineland region, but despite that, the vegetable has had a permanent place in the range of vegetable growers from the Rhineland, German website Proplanta.de reports.

The summer months are ideal to enjoy the spicy and healthy vegetable. That's because fennel has various uses. The entire bulb, excluding the stalk in the middle, is edible. As an addition to salads or raw food, it brings the typical, intense fennel flavour to the plate. The vegetable tastes noticeably milder when heated. Stewed, fried or cooked in a casserole, a lot of people enjoy the vegetable, even if they think it tastes too intense when raw.

Cooking tomatoes along with fennel makes for a particularly good combination. With fried fish or seared meat, a vegetable mix of fennel and tomatoes is a particular delicacy. Fennel is easily digestible and contains calcium, magnesium, potassium and vitamin C. The vegetable can be stored for several days in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.