Pickled Fennel

 

All the cool weather vegetables in the garden threatened to bolt the second it got kind of warm.  I should have worse problems than having to harvest peas, radishes, fennel, and artichokes.  It was disappointing to lose the lettuces, though.  You forget how much they cost in the store when you've had an endless supply for months.

It was time to do another cold tapas dinner with my harvest.  I decided to make it a pickled theme, to contrast the cheese and gefilte I was having as the protein.  Because yeah, I still had a loaf of gefilte in the freezer.

I found some opinions on how to pickle the fennel, since I had never done that vegetable before, and settled on this one as a starting point.  My little bulb was barely going to make a pint, and who really needs a quart of pickled fennel, plus I changed several of the seasonings.  And while I was at it, I pickled the rest of the radishes.  Same brine, different spices.

*1 fennel bulb, with fronds if possible
1/2 C white wine vinegar
1/2 C water
1 Tb kosher salt
1/2 Tb sugar
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp each *fennel seed, mustard seed, and whole peppercorns
*1/8 tsp celery seed

1.  Trim off fennel tops, saving a few of the more tender fronds.  Wash bulb well and slice thinly, about 1/8 inch thick.  You can either do it the long way or crosswise, like I did.  Either way, do not use the hard core. I popped them out of each slice and put them in the compost.

2.  Stir together water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a small saucepan.  Bring to a low boil for two minutes, to dissolve the salt and sugar, then set aside.

3.  Pack fennel slices, fronds, garlic, and whole spices into a pint jar, slightly larger if necessary.  Glass is the recommended material when pickling.  Metal may rust and plastic will take on odors and flavors.

4.  Pour the hot brine over fennel and spices.  Press down and shake the jar a bit to get out any large air bubbles.  If there isn't enough brine, top off with water.  Allow to sit until room temperature.  Top with a lid and refrigerate two days before using.  Lasts about 2 weeks in the fridge.

Makes about 2-3 cups

Difficulty rating  π