Fennel Seed – Spice of the Month Club

I’ve been wanting to do more cooking with the kiddos for our homeschool. I was delighted to find a local Spice of the Month club and decided to participate. Our first spice was fennel seed. We made a main dish, a side, and a dessert, all vegetarian.

We made a vegetable stew with fennel seeds, baking powder biscuits with fennel seeds, and chocolate fennel seed whoopie pies. Here are the recipes for each.

Vegetable Stew with Fennel Seed

2 tablespoons butter or olive oil

1 white onion (chopped)

4 carrots (peeled and chopped)

2 ribs celery (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 russet potatoes (peeled and chopped)

4 cups vegetable stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seeds

Sauté chopped onion, celery, and carrots in butter or olive oil on medium-ish heat (they should sizzle in the heat but not so hot that you hear them snap, crackle, or pop) until the vegetables are golden brown (the color is where the flavor is) add about 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt as the vegetables are sautéing. Add peeled and chopped potatoes and vegetable stock to sautéed vegetables. Bring to boil then simmer covered with lid for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Meanwhile toast fennel seeds on a pan over medium heat for just over a minute until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and let cool, then grind seeds in a spice grinder and add to soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Fennel Seed Baking Powder Biscuits
(makes 6 large biscuits)

I used the recipe from the back of Bob’s Red Mill flour with the addition of 1 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seeds.

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seeds (toast seeds in a pan over medium heat for just over a minute, until golden brown)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (cold)

1 cup milk (we use soy milk)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix dry ingredients, cut in butter with pastry knife until mixture resembles course crumbs, slowly stir in milk being careful not to over mix. Dough will be wet and sticky. Use a cookie scoop to drop biscuits onto a sil-pat or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for about 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Chocolate Fennel Seed Whoopie Pies with Cream Cheese Fennel Seed Filling
Adapted from One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn’s Beloved Bakery (2012) by Dawn Casale and David Crofton
(makes 24 whoopie pies)

2 cups flour

½ cup dutch cocoa powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seed (toast seeds in a pan on medium heat for just over a minute until golden brown)

½ cup sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup sour cream

1/3 cup canola oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and toasted, ground fennel seeds.

In a separate bowl, beat sugars, sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla for 3 minutes on medium speed. Gradually add the flour mixture while beating on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.

Preheat over to 350 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or use a sil-pat mat.

Use a small cookies scoop to drop batter onto prepared baking sheet. Cookies should be 2 inches in diameter, leave 1 and ½ inches between cookies. Refrigerate the batter between batches. Immediately put the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 9 minutes until the cookies spring back when touched. Let cool completely before adding filling (recipe follows).

Fennel Seed Filling for Chocolate Fennel Seed Whoopie Pies

4 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

5 Tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon toasted and ground fennel seed (toast seeds in a pan on medium heat for just over a minute until golden brown)

Beat together cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add fennel seed and salt and mix on low speed. Gradually add the powdered sugar. If the filling is too soft and does not hold its shape, continue adding powdered sugar 1 Tbsp at a time until you reach the desired consistency.

I tried to get the kids to watch a Veggie Tales movie, Veggies In Space: The Fennel Frontier, but they were not as enthusiastic about it as I was. I’m afraid they might’ve outgrown Veggie Tales. So sad.

I found this poem which references fennel, The Goblet of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I wonder what our spice will be next month? Until then, we hope this post inspires you to try cooking with fennel seed sometime soon!