"Follow a Path...find your recipe"

The Wild Fennel

(PART I)

 THE SECRETS OF ABRUZZO

     If you’re thinking of a spring recipe with a fresh and delicate taste;

if you also enjoy hiking over open landscapes, well, time has come to take advantage of June’s first sunny days for going hiking in the heart of Abruzzo along one of our many trails. 

     Whether among fields of olive trees, or on  mountain tops, in arid sunny places, in uncultivated lands, on the edge of the roads and gravel slopes, it won’t be difficult to encounter that small, often underestimated and completely neglected Mediterranean small shrub,  that will be, this time, the main ingredient of our best dish.

      Searching for this herbaceous plant we decided to go for a walk, along a path near the plain of “Campo Felice”, right in front of the ski resort, in the province of L'Aquila, between the town territories of “Lucoli” and “Rocca di Cambio”, along the mountain chain “Velino-Sirente”, partly inside its park.

“Foeniculum Vulgare” perhaps better said “Finocchio Selvatico” Wild Fennel, a spontaneous, very aromatic plant that grows in many areas of Abruzzo over 1500 meters of altitude. Belonging to the Apiaceae family (Umbelliferae) it’s known since ancient times for its properties. A perennial plant with a ramified stem that can reach a height up to 2 m..

      This aromatic plant has an erect stem of glaucous green color with a cylindrical and branched shape. The green leaves, give a reminiscent of hay (hence the name foeniculum), and show themselves finely jagged so as to appear threadlike. In summer the plant produces small yellowish flowers collected in umbrellas and very aromatic fruits called “achenii” achenes, with a first green and then greyish color.

Buds, leaves, flowers and fruits (improperly called "seeds") of the Wild Fennel can be used in the kitchen.

With its fresh and pleasant scent, it recalls an anise-flavored spice and is well suited to enrich and make special dishes of all kinds.

        In the Middle Ages wild fennel was used for preparing recipes, and especially for covering unwanted odors. A legend tells that the apostle Peter was once sent by Jesus to buy some wine. Once at the tavern he was invited to eat a slice of bread and fennel together with the wine that he was buying. When back home the other apostles realized that the wine had a taste of vinegar. This greatly surprised Peter; then Jesus asked him if the host had given him something to eat. "Yes, bread and fennel" promptly replied Peter. “Don’t you know that fennel distorts the taste of wine?” - said Jesus - When you go to buy some wine, be careful, “non lasciarti infinocchiare” don’t get fooled. (In the Italian slang language the word “infinocchiare”  means getting fooled). That way of saying came from those words pronounced by Jesus and we still use this term today.

In our region the plant can be gathered, depending on the season, as soon as the flower opens, from mid-June until late September. The flower can be used fresh, or dried outdoors in the light, but away from direct sunlight, which would make evaporate the essential oils. The diachens can be collected at the beginning of autumn, when the transformation of the flower in fruit takes place. The "beards" or leaves and the tender shoots can be picked from spring to late summer.

For the recipe we are about to propose, in the towns around L’Aquila, local traditions when talking about recipes with wild fennel indicate late spring as the most suitable time to go and gather it. In fact, in this period the plant has a very delicate scent.

In the Italian kitchen wild fennel is also called "finocchietto" and depending on the desired recipe you can use all of its parts.

            For example, the fennel  achenes, improperly called seeds, go well with all fatty meats (pork), fish, salads, salamies and all kinds of cheese. The seeds are also used to flavor the water in which the chestnuts are boiled, to perfume the black olives or dried figs too. Both fresh or dried flowers are used, according to the varieties, the leaves (or beard), and the more or less large branches are used when cooking the small “bombetti” (sea snails). Fresh and chopped leaves are used to flavor our soups. In the "pasta with sardines", the leaves of wild fennel are one of the essential ingredients, but let's get back to our region and our secrets.

       Summing up, we said that the main ingredient of our recipe is going to be Wild Fennel and we should remember that late spring is the best time to gather it. A nice bouquet will be enough.

Soon part II- the recipe with wild fennel on " THE SECRETS OF ABRUZZO ".

Giuseppe LIBERO