Season's eatings: fennel and leek tart — theguardian.com

Fennel is a perennial herb indigenous to the Mediterranean, but widely propagated. Both the crisp bulb, and the fennel seeds are used for culinary purposes in diverse cuisines worldwide. The plant itself is a beautiful addition to a vegetable garden, with its tall stalks topped by umbrella-rib-like umbels of yellow flowers , which then produce the seed. At the market, look for fennel with perky green fronds, and a plump white body. There should be no discolouration, or splits in the body of the fennel. In your market basket, the fennel should be so fresh they’ll squeak as they rub against one another.

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