Pickled Fennel (Perfect for Salads)!
This Pickled Fennel is sweetened with orange and spiked with cornucopia of mustard seeds, black peppercorns and star anise. Adds amazing flavor and crunch to salads, sandwiches and so much more.
Servings: 20
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small fennel bulb(s)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 orange zest of half an orange, plus juice from the orange
- 1 lemon zest of half a lemon, plus juice from the lemon
- 1 ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon all spice berries
- 2 whole star anise
- 1 teaspoon Tumeric
Instructions
- Trim the top stalks from the fennel, reserving some of the fronds. Trim the root end and peel away any tough outer layers. Cut the fennel bulbs vertically in two. Slice out and discard solid core .
- Slice the trimmed bulb very thinly (⅛ inch) on a mandolin slicer, or with a very sharp knife. Place fennel in a colander in sink or large bowl and sprinkle with salt; toss to mix. Let rest for 1 hour.
- Using a zester that removes zest in strips, remove half the zest from the orange and lemon. Juice the orange and lemon, set aside.
- Combine salted fennel, orange and lemon strips, and a few fennel fronds. Toss well to mix. Pack the mixture and fennel fonds into a wide mouth quart jar and set aside.
- In a small saucepan, combine water, orange juice, lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour mixture into the jar with the fennel. Make sure the fennel is completely covered with pickling liquid. If not, add a little more water to top off.
- Let cool at room temperature, then cap and refrigerate. It's ready to enjoy as soon as it's chilled, and will keep up to a month, refrigerated.
Video
Notes
Before You Get Started:
Make sure to give your fennel plenty of time to rest with the salt. It improves the final crunch and flavor dramatically.
These pickles improve over time. Let them rest at least 24 hours before you break into them, 48 hours is even better.
Make sure to give your fennel plenty of time to rest with the salt. It improves the final crunch and flavor dramatically.
These pickles improve over time. Let them rest at least 24 hours before you break into them, 48 hours is even better.