It is essential that you serve a generous amount of this Pickled Fennel Recipe on a cheeseboard alongside aged cheddar and our rye & caraway crackers. It’s also great as part of a ploughman’s lunch or served with a charcuterie board. Pickled fennel really is one of the easiest things you can make to lift any meal. It adds balance and cut through to roast pork and crackling, provides a zingy crunch to toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and is at home in a nourishing salad bowl.
Pickled foods have had a resurgence in recent years. Everybody’s pickling! There’s even a pickle juice wellness craze where people have been drinking pickling liquid to alleviate muscle cramps, improve hydration and gut health and to freshen the breath.
Traditional pickling has existed for thousands of years. The pickling process of adding a brine or vinegar solution to fresh produce was a way to preserve fruit and vegetables and prolong their shelf life.
Modern day fast pickling methods, like the ones they favour on Masterchef, have taught home cooks how to create delicious sweet and sour pickled creations in their own kitchens with ONLY FIVE MINUTES TO GO!
This Pickled Fennel Recipe takes a little longer – more like 15 minutes.
Store your pickled fennel in a jar in the fridge for up to one week, if it lasts that long!
Pickled Fennel Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 small head fennel
Instructions
- Place vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to the boil. The sugar and salt should dissolve in the liquid.Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Finely slice your fennel head lengthways on a mandolin and place in sterilised jars along with some spices such as star anise, fennel seed, orange zest, fennel fronds, mustard seeds or black peppercorns. Use your imagination!
- Pour over the liquid to fill the jar and seal until you are ready to eat.
- Serve as part of a cheeseboard or ploughman's lunch.