A very dear friend of mine just got married. At her bachelorette we ate at a fantastic restaurant in Santa Ynez wine country called Root 246. As we’re gobbling down appetizer after appetizer I put some unidentified garnish in my mouth and I’m blown away. What IS this?! Everyone tries it and the perplexed expressions multiply. Finally I feel the light bulb go on. “Fennel!” I yelled entirely too loudly. “It’s pickled fennel!” Thank goodness too because the mystery of that little side dish would have driven us bonkers. It was deliciously tart, sweet and crunchy and I had to have more. This recipe is a bit different than what I had at 246 but with comparable characteristics. It’s a refreshing palette cleanser and a great use of fennel.
What are your favorite pickled veggies?
- 2 fennel bulbs
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 lemon, zest removed in strips then juiced
- 1 orange, zest removed in strips then juiced
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 2-1/2 Tablespoons honey or sugar
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 4 pieces star anise
- sterilized 1 quart canning jar
- Cut fennel bulb in half vertically, remove core and slice very thinly. Place in colander over sink and salt evenly. Let sit and allow to drain.
- Add fennel, lemon zest and orange zest to canning jar and pressed mixture down with the back of a clean spoon. Add star anise.
- In a small pan, bring lemon juice, orange juice, vinegar and honey/sugar just barely to a boil to dissolve sugars. Pour mixture over fennel in jar. Seal jar and let steep at room temperature for a couple days. Then eat or store in fridge for up to a couple weeks.
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Dang, I must have missed the pickled fennel at the bachelorette! Well I will have to try this! Phil and I had some homegrown pickled radishes recently that were out of this world!
It was soooo good. This version has more zing, less sugar I think. Yum! Love pickled radishes!!