Fennel: A Mainstay of Sicilian Cooking!

Finnochio, or fennel as it is known in English, plays an important role in Sicilian cooking. Ancient Greeks and Romans knew of fennel because it grew wild in the Mediterranean basin during  their times.  The ancient Greeks called fennel "marathron"which means to grow thin and the great ancient Battle of Marathon was given its name because the field where it occurred was filled with the revered plant. According to Greek myths, knowledge was delivered to humans by the gods at Olympus in a fennel stalk filled with coal. 


The Greeks and the Romans used fennel for its medicinal and culinary properties. Roman men ate fennel to maintain good health and Roman women ate it to manage their weight. Pliny recommended the herb for "dimness of human vision" because the Romans believed that serpents sucked the plant's juices to improve their eyesight.


Fennel was one of the nine sacred herbs of the Anglo-Saxons, and in 812 CE Charlemagne declared fennel essential in every garden for its healing properties.

Medieval Europeans hung fennel from the rafters for good luck and stuffed it in keyholes to keep ghosts and evil spirits out of their homes. They also chewed the seeds during church services to stop their stomachs from rumbling.

I decided to make a dish with fennel, zucchini, lemon, onions, olive oil, salt and pepper. I sliced the vegetables as you can see on the right, then mixed them with the olive oil. I put them in a pan and warmed them in a 300 degree oven.


Fennel is an good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, folate, and molybdenum, niacin, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron and copper. 

I heated the vegetables just enough to warm them and allow the flavors to blend.


Fennel has a sweet, mild licorice taste, and combined with the salt, pepper, onion, and citrus...the dish was quite delightful.