Ingredient Spotlight: fennel pollen

When I mentioned fennel pollen in passing last week, I got quite a few requests for more information about it. I’ve come to find that some of the ingredients I use on a regular basis aren’t necessarily common, so I’ve decided to start a semi-regular feature called Ingredient Spotlight. Once a month, I’ll feature a different ingredient – what it is, where to buy it and recipe ideas. If you have any ingredients in particular that you’d like me to talk about, just let me know.

First up is fennel pollen. Fennel pollen is exactly what it sounds like – the pollen from wild fennel plants. I’ve think that raw fennel tastes very different than cooked fennel. Besides the obvious texture difference, raw fennel has a distinctive licorice flavor. When you cook fennel it gets sweet, and the licorice flavor is considerably milder. Fennel pollen tastes like cooked fennel, only sweeter with a more intense flavor. It’s quite delicious.

I bought my fennel pollen at a specialty foods store in the Bay Area. You can order it online from them, or buy it at Amazon. It’s a little pricey because it’s very labor intensive to pick, but a little goes a long way. Fennel pollen is primary used in Italian cooking, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use it elsewhere. You can use it in place of fennel seeds in quite a few recipes, although I would stick to simple preparations to let its flavor shine.

One of my favorite combinations is fennel pollen and pork. Apparently Anne Burrell and Mario Batali agree. Nancy Silverton puts fennel pollen in roasted vegetables. You could also use it on fish or chicken.

Here’s a recipe I adapted from the Campanile cookbook. The original didn’t call for fennel pollen, but I thought it would pair well with the scallops. I loved this dish – if you’re a leek fan like I am, give it a try. If you want to make this but don’t want to buy fennel pollen, just leave it out.


Scallops with fennel pollen, leeks and bacon
Serves 4
Adapted from the Campanile cookbook

1 ½ lbs sea scallops
2 tsp fennel pollen
4 slices of bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces
6 leeks, cleaned and lengthwise into 1-2 inch pieces
1 T grainy mustard
½ a lemon
Salt and pepper

Cook the bacon in a large pan until crisp, transfer to paper towels. Divide the bacon fat between two large pans; you should have about 1 tablespoon per pan. Drain some of the fat off if you have too much. Warm both pans over high heat. In one pan, add the leeks and turn the heat down to medium, sauté until browned and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat down to low, and add the mustard. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the bacon and juice from the lemon.

Make sure your scallops are dry before you start. Sprinkle the scallops with the fennel pollen, salt and pepper. Sear the scallops in the other pan over high heat in a single layer for about 3 minutes. Turn the scallops to the other side and cook for another 2-3 minutes, or until done. Serve the scallops over the leeks.

Winter squash soup with bay scallops

When I made this winter squash dish a few weeks back, I intentionally bought more butternut and kabocha squash than the recipe called for. I used the extra squash to make a really simple soup. I sauteed some shallots in a little olive oil and added cubed squash, salt, pepper and water. I simmered the mixture until the squash was really tender, pureed it in the blender, and then added lemon juice to taste. I froze the soup for later use.

Tonight I pulled the soup out of the freezer and combined it with some bay scallops and bacon to make a great dinner. I cut up the bacon into small pieces and cooked it in a large pan until it was browned and crispy. I removed the bacon from the pan and drained it on some paper towels. I discarded most of the fat left in the pan, leaving just enough to cover the bottom and turned the heat up to high. I threw in the bay scallops and sauteed them until they were just cooked through. The scallops were seasoned with some salt and a squeeze of meyer lemon juice.

To assemble dinner, I ladled some of the thawed and reheated soup into a shallow bowl. I topped the soup with a pile of scallops and some bacon. This was a really nice flavor combination - a little bit of smoke and salt from the bacon, and sweetness from the scallops and winter squash.

New Orleans style scallops

I saw this recipe in the April issue of Cooking Light. It calls for shrimp, but I had medium sized scallops on hand, so I used those instead. The seafood is cooked in a foil packet with a flavorful blend of herbs and spices. I thought the recipe needed a little salt, so I added a pinch at the end.

Spiced scallops with avocado oil

I bought a small bottle of avocado oil at Sur La Table, and wanted to try it out. Avocado oil is extracted from the flesh of the avocado. The result is a deep green oil that tastes like an avocado. I ended up using this recipe from Cooking Light, except I substituted scallops for shrimp. The avocado oil was a nice complement to the spiced scallops. I garnished with microgreens.

Seafood stew

I wanted to do something a little different for dinner. I hadn't cooked shellfish before, and mussels were on sale, so I decided to do a seafood stew. You can use a different combination of seafood or add fish to this recipe. I served it with homemade bread that had just come out of the oven.

Seafood stew
Serves 2
1/2 lb mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 lb squid, bodies cut into rings
6-8 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 lb scallops (I used small bay scallops)
1 medium shallot, minced
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1/2 of a lemon
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add shallot and red pepper flakes and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the wine and tomato sauce to the skillet. Add the mussels, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rest of the seafood, season with salt and peper and cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until shrimp is opaque. Stir in parsley and squeeze the lemon over the seafood. If needed, season to taste with more salt and pepper.