Preparing fennel bulbs for cooking

If you have grown your own fennel, you bulbs will, hopefully have turned out large, rounded and firm.

Check for soft brown patches - not good.

Your fennel should keep well in the crisper section of your refrigerator for e few days.

So, what I normally do is to .......

1 cut the stalks off close to the bulb.

2 remove any tough outer layers of the bulb

3 remove the inner core and cut the remaining pieces into thin slices for salads or sautés

You can leave the core in place if the recipe calls for the fennel to be braised, grilled or roasted.

To use the bulb as a vegetable base for stews and soups, in which case just chop it up as you would an onion