Season: June to early July. Tall, willowy, feathered sweet Florence fennel, with its creamy-white, bulbous bottom, has to be one of the most alluring vegetables to grow in the garden. It’s not easy to cultivate in every soil, but if it likes your particular situation, you should be able to grow plenty to use with gay abandon in the summertime, with some left over to preserve for later in the year. It’s only really worth making this pickle if you have a supply of freshly harvested bulbs when they are pale green and tender. All too often, the imported stuff is yellow and coarse. You have to discard much of the outer bulb, and it certainly isn’t worth the expense or trouble of pickling. This lovely light pickle is delicious with smoked or oily fish and in winter salads. It nearly always makes an appearance at our Boxing Day lunch.
Recipe information
Yield
makes three to four 8-ounce jars
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour about 10 cups of water into a large pan, salt it well, and bring to a boil. Add the sliced fennel and blanch for no more than 1 minute. Drain in a colander, cool under cold water, then drain and pat dry.
Step 2
Put the vinegar, peppercorns, sugar, lemon zest, bay leaves, and celery or fennel seeds into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for about 10 minutes, until the liquid reaches a syrupy consistency. The vinegar vapors will create quite a pungent atmosphere in the kitchen.
Step 3
Pack the fennel into wide-necked, sterilized jars (see p. 21), lacing a few fennel fronds between the slices. Remove the vinegar syrup from the heat and carefully pour it over the fennel. You may well find all the spices remain at the bottom of the pan. If this happens, distribute them between the jars, poking the peppercorns and bay leaves down through the fennel slices. Pour sufficient oil into each jar to seal the surface. Seal the jars with vinegar-proof lids (see p. 22). Use within 1 year.
