Recently I acquired some fennel pollen, an ingredient I’ve heard much about but hadn’t much of an opportunity to work with.
If I recall correctly, the first time I’d seen fennel pollen mentioned was in reference to Mario Batali smuggling some back from Italy with him (in Bill Buford’s book Heat, I think).
It often amazes me what sorts of harmless food items are prohibited from being imported; when I was researching facts for my spice article, I found out that Szechuan peppercorns were banned in the US for close to 30 years, but further investigation uncovered that this had more to do with limiting the importation of harmful bugs that might come along for the ride. Fennel pollen was one such item that was banned for a while, so enterprising chefs that were eagerly in search of the next new thing had to engage in a little bit of slightly illegal activity to enjoy the spoils of their newest vices. Which happens more often than you might think; I’ve even read articles about Thuet quietly bringing wild game into the country in a suitcase, or Jeffrey Steingarten once wrote about sneaking raw milk cheese into the US. When I was in Chicago last year I discreetly returned to Canada with some extraneous herbs and spices, proof that even the most virtuous among us bends the rules sometimes.
But, let us segue back to the fennel pollen.
My modus operandi in procuring it was primarily for experimentation in my meat curing endeavours. Though I generally dislike fennel seeds, I’d been told that the pollen is sweeter, more fragrant and somewhat honey-like, all qualities I was willing to embrace in my quest for something new. The first order of business was supposed to be a fennel pollen and lavender cured slab of bacon, but my general busyness, combined with a frozen solid 15 pound slab of pork belly has left that on the back burner for now.
In the meantime, still wishing to sample the flavour and get a better understanding of what applications it might lend itself best to, I decided to make some fennel pollen and Szechuan peppercorn roasted chicken. The chicken, (as always) was delicious, having come to us via our organic grocer in Mount Albert who sources meat that isn’t fattened on crap. It actually tastes like chicken. But, as occasionally happens in life, this would all end in tears (figuratively). Fennel pollen, as it turns out, is a very pungent herb (spice?), one that I had clearly over-sprinkled when seasoning our food. So, this does 2 things; 1) it proves that occasionally I make mistakes too, ergo I am real and not some culinary robot and 2) it tells me that I need to do some further investigation before I waste a beautiful, creamy white pork belly.
For once I’m really glad I started small.
Until next time…
Tags: Cooking, fennel pollen, New Projects
