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I make a very simple fennel salad which consists of: Thinly sliced fennel in a mandoline (paper thin) thinly sliced lemon (meyer is better but regular will do) finely chopped parsley (half a bunch on 3 heads of fennel 1 lemon) drizzle lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. refridgerate for 30 minutes serve chilled... lovely with chicken or grilled salmon.

I also use baby fennel quartered lengthwise, parboil them for 1-2 minutes and I add them in a regular Nicoise salad.

I just chop up fennel to use as a celery substitute in tossed salads, as well as tuna and chicken salads. My daughter doesn't like the taste of celery, but she likes fennel.

I'm happy to see other recipes for it--thanks!

Orangette has a recipe similar to Anusha's but with parmesean and mushrooms. I really like the combination. My question is what to do with greens. They look edible but . . .

I make a fennel salad almost every week. It's one of our faves. Very simple:
1. fennel cut thinly, w/a sharp knife, i don't have a mandoline, but it works just fine
2. sprinkle rice wine vinegar a some salt and let it sit for bit. the fennel absorbs the vinegar
3. then sprinkle very thinly chopped scallions
4. sprinkle the fine leafy ends of the fennel
5. pepper
6. great finishing salt

it's very refreshing in the summer.

P.S. Forgot to mention to add olive oil.

Juice, the fronds of fennel can be used to garnish. That's all. The stalks are a bit too tough to be eaten. My recipe above can be made with any citrus, I make it sometimes with kumquats.

I actually find fennel to not be that difficult to chew -- I cut it about 1/4-1/2 inch thick, and throw the slices in a pan of super hot olive oil, and let them caramelize and brown all over, about a minute per batch. Then I put the juice of one lemon, salt and pepper in the pan with them, let it bubble up, and then pour it all into a container with a bunch more olive oil to marinate for at least an hour in the fridge or overnight -- it should be cold when you eat it.

JeremyS - that sounds YUMMY. i'm trying it tomorrow.

I cut my fennel bulbs in quarters, sprinkle rock salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and stick in a 400 degree oven for about 35-40 min or on the grill for a little longer. great flavors.

I made a fennel mayonnaise recently from this recipe:
http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/recipes/recipesearch/recipe/9905074-r02.asp
I had skate rather than trout; I pan-fried it and served a little of the fennel mayo on top, with a sprinkle of the chopped greens on top. It was good but I used a very flavorful olive oil to make the mayo and I wished I'd used a more neutral oil. The strong taste of the olive oil was a bit distracting. Also, I used the greens rather than the bulb to make the mayo; the recipe isn't so clear but since the alternative is dill, I think that's what they meant.

I braise my fennel with leeks:

*coarsely chop up a few fennel bulbs, and an inch or two's worth of stalk
*trash the fronds
*slice some leeks into 1-inch rounds, up til maybe an inch worth of green part
*saute in butter n' olive oil, salt n' pepper in a big hot pot
*after you've got some brown to them, turn down the heat and add a half cuppa chicken stock
*cook gently, adding more stock when absorbed/evaporated for about another 20-30 minutes

A great way to introduce someone to fennel, and it keeps and reheats well.

I do a Walnut Levain Panzanella (with fennel:)

Combine these ingredients to taste:

-thinly sliced fennel
-radicchio torn into bite size pieces
-arugula
-orange segments juice
-gorgonzola
-Walnut Levain, torn into 1" cubes and toasted
-olive oil
-s&P