Grilled fennel (Μάραθο στην σχάρα)

Grilled fennel is a wonderful vegetable or side dish. Grilling fennel (or maratho as it is called in Greek) brings out the sweetness. Grilling can be done outdoors or on an indoor grill pan. This is a unique and delicious way to enjoy this special anise flavoured vegetable.

Μάραθο στην σχάρα. Maratho stin skara. If you have been following Mia Kouppa even a little bit, you’ll know that Helen and I get most of our recipe inspiration from our parents; they are, after all, the reason behind this little blog of ours.  However, we also get inspired by other great Greek home cooks, the culinary world around us in our great city of Montreal, and the varied and rich ethnic and cultural food influences we are presented with every day.  So much inspiration…so much great stuff to eat!  But it doesn’t stop there.  We are also influenced and inspired by the friends we may never meet in person; the food bloggers, Instagrammers, Pinners and Facebookers we follow, admire, and wish we could share a meal with.  This grilled fennel is a direct result of that admiration.

Why I love this recipe

I originally saw this simple but brilliant idea for fennel on the blog She Loves Biscotti. Maria had posted it on her Instagram page.  Then I realized that Maria from She Loves Biscotti (and we love that name!) is a food blogger from Montreal with an Italian heritage! How crazy!  Given that Italian and Greeks are often considered the same-same, and that we are all from the same city, it seemed that this fennel recipe had come full circle to me.  All that’s left now is for Helen and I, and maybe our parents, to share a Greek coffee (or an espresso) with Maria. Then we can talk about how small this great big world actually is!

Key ingredients

Fennel bulbs Fennel is a wonderful vegetable that takes like anise, or black liquorice. I usually find it fresh with the bulb and the stalks still attached. At the end of the stalks there are often fennel fronds, light feathery leaves that grow off the stalks.

Olive oil I only use Greek olive oil in this recipe, and in all my other recipes!

Dry oregano I love dry Greek oregano

Lemon juice I use freshly squeezed lemon juice whenever possible in my recipes. Of course I do occasionally use bottled lemon juice if that is all I have, but fresh is always best.

Salt and pepper Basic seasonings, that enhance all recipes!

How to make it

Step 1
To prepare your fennel for grilling you need to slice them widthwise, keeping the core intact (otherwise your fennel will fall apart).

Step 2
Cut off or peel away any hard, outer parts of the fennel and cut away the outer end of the core. Then slice the fennel carefully in half and then cut each half into 1/2 inch thick slices. Each medium sized fennel bulb should give you 4 slices of fennel.

Step 3
Brush both sides of each slice with a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano, on both sides.

Step 4
Place on a grill set over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until you get a nice golden colour on your fennel with some charred areas. You can do this on an outdoor grill, either gas or charcoal. Also, you can do this on an indoor grill pan set over medium heat on your stovetop.

Step 5
Place on your serving platter and drizzle with a little more olive oil and the juice of 1/2 lemon.

Helpful hints

How to prepare fennel for grilling

Really, the most difficult part of this recipe is preparing the fennel.  You need to be careful to slice it into 1/2 inch thick slices while keeping the core intact. If you don’t your fennel will fall apart.  You also need to be able to cut off just enough of the end of the core so that any brown parts are removed, but the integrity of the core is maintained.

How to slice your fennel

When slicing your fennel, start by cutting it in half. Then cut each half into half by laying it cut side down on the cutting board. Lay your hand over the fennel, keeping your fingers out of harms way.  Be careful! This fennel is good, but it’s not worth losing a thumb over.

Use all parts of your fennel

To prepare this grilled fennel I chopped off the stalks and the fronds. I like to reserve the stalks for vegetable stock, or as an ingredients in vegetable soup. I also used some of the fronds to help brush on the marinade of some chicken that I was grilling. Pretty smart don’t you think?

Related recipes

If you like this simple recipe of grilled fennel, then you might like these other recipes that also use this delicious, anise flavoured vegetable or other vegetables that are grilled.

Maniatiki Salad (Potato salad with oranges and fennel)

Fennel salad

Grilled zucchini

Thanks for sharing!