Fennel

A globe's worth of influences go into this tender quail, but the result is a very subtle dish with a classic French balance.

Favorite Mediterranean ingredients come together in this creamy risotto. Adding the liquid from the tomatoes to the chicken stock underscores the flavor of the fresh tomatoes added at the very end. This is delicious made with any ripe red or orange tomatoes.

You might expect to find smoked duck breast in a sultry, sensual main-course salad like this one, but here we use smoked turkey, which makes it a lot more affordable and a little bit more robust. Both good things.

Fennel and tomatoes go silky when poached in olive oil, and when halibut follows suit, it picks up hints of the vegetables' flavor and becomes succulent and delicately nuanced.

Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Food and Fragrance by Mandy Aftel and Daniel Patterson. This is an incredibly useful and versatile stock. It has a sweet vegetal flavor that can be used in many different ways—as a base for sauces and soups, adding richness and depth without changing the essential flavor of what it is paired with. It keeps in the refrigerator for one week, or you can freeze it indefinitely.

The inner stalks of celery and fennel, plus soft chunks of mozzarella, add up to a clean, cool salad that's quite striking (the name, which refers to a "woman in white," alludes to its pale hues).

The fennel bulb we've added to this Little Italy combo is a natural complement to the fennel seeds in the sausage.

With an earthy flavor punctuated by hints of orange and a smooth, velvety texture, this soup is perfect as a simple weeknight supper or as a starter for an elegant party.

You don't need to get fancy with bouillabaisse. This version of the French fisherman's stew liberates you from having to buy up the entire fish counter—just choose any two or three of the fish and shellfish options listed below.

You don't often see turnips served raw, but they're crisp, sweet, and surprisingly tasty. At the market, look for small fennel bulbs and small turnips. They'll be tender and have a mild flavor.

This sweet and savory stuffing can be made two weeks ahead and frozen. Defrost it in the refrigerator the night before Thanksgiving.

You can slice and dice the ingredients for these no-cook pizzas in advance, but serve them right after assembly so the flatbreads don't get soggy.

Fresh fennel and fennel seeds flavor this elegant main course.

An immersion blender makes the prep time even shorter.

Roasting brings out fennel's sweet side.

The legacy of San Francisco's Italian and Portuguese immigrants—many of them fishermen—lives on in this fuss-free take on the North Beach favorite, with fresh fennel adding a subtle touch of anise to the tomato-based seafood stew.

We love this cool vehicle for fennel seed on its own, and we venture it would also boost any other fruit-based dessert as beautifully as it does the pear crisps.

This impressive dish requires very little prep work, and the whole thing is cooked in just one pan. Serve with toasted slices of crusty bread.