As we all know, wild fennel grows like a weed everywhere it lays its hat. Most gardeners pull it up because it is just that, but once you’ve given pollen a go you’ll be planning a designated fennel patch. Apparently, it keeps the slugs and snails away. Culinary website, Serious Eats says;’ "if angels sprinkled a spice from their wings, this would be it." This is only slight hyperbole. Fennel pollen is an incredibly powerful spice, with notes of liquorice, citrus and handmade marshmallows. It tastes like pure summer joy.’
At around £1 per gm (£1000 per kg) it doesn’t come cheap, so picking and drying your own adds to the joy. As usual, I might have left it a bit late because in a normal year, wild fennel starts flowering at the end of June and in its desperation to reproduce, if you keep on picking the flowers it will go on flowering well into August. All you have to do is pick the flowers into a paper bag and leave it next to your boiler or on top of the hot water tank. Come autumn, when it’s dry, pulse in a food processor until the stalks have separated and shake around in a colander so the flower dust falls through. Seal in a jar and you’re good to go.
It's good with grains, vegetables, poultry and fish (particularly in a fish soup or bouillabaisse) but it’s with pork that it’s best matched. My ‘go-to’ marinade for a chop or spare rib steak is a clove of garlic, leaves from a sprig of rosemary, 1/3rd tsp of fennel pollen, salt, olive oil and, maybe a few Turkish chilli flakes. Grind together in a mortar and pestle and coat the pork generously. Griddle for about three minutes per side, cover with foil and leave to cook through in the pan as it cools.
Ingredients
Directions
It's good with grains, vegetables, poultry and fish (particularly in a fish soup or bouillabaisse) but it’s with pork that it’s best matched. My ‘go-to’ marinade for a chop or spare rib steak is a clove of garlic, leaves from a sprig of rosemary, 1/3rd tsp of fennel pollen, salt, olive oil and, maybe a few Turkish chilli flakes. Grind together in a mortar and pestle and coat the pork generously. Griddle for about three minutes per side, cover with foil and leave to cook through in the pan as it cools.