Roasted Fennel Makes a Perfect Vegan Taco

Fennel is so underrated, and its put to wonderful use in these delicious plant-based tacos

Roasted fennel topped with a heavy hand of crispy kale. Photos: Kevin Vaughn.

The unsung hero of vegetarian and vegan cuisine is undoubtedly fennel. It took me a while to get down with this perennial herb in my own cooking — my introductions were rough slices of raw fennel tossed indiscriminately into salads. No matter how much I squeezed other vegetables and streaks of dressing onto my fork, each bite brought unwelcome pops of black licorice and anise. It’s no wonder that Italians munch on fennel or anise-flavored liqueurs following a meal to cleanse the palate and help digestion!

Since, I’ve learned that fennel is the perfect medium for the style of cooking I lean on most: roasting and braising. The tightly packed fibrous bulb is able to withstand long cooking times without breaking down into mush. Braising or roasting fennel is also the best way to temper the licorice flavor and let the heat beat it down to lend a slight tang and creamy, caramelized texture.

I have learned that the key is in the cut. If I am preparing roasted fennel as a main dish for a vegan or vegetarian dinner, I choose smaller fennels and simply sever it down the middle. If its destiny is to be smashed between two slices of bread, I separate the bulb from the stalk, pull apart the individual layers, and slice each layer in half. If I am going to wrap it in a corn tortilla, which is my usual choice when devouring a delicious fennel guisado, I carve it down into thin slices.

In this recipe, with my go-to plant-based taco filling, I make a sauce heavy on toasted cumin and chipotle peppers that perfumes the house with an aroma that reminds me of my all time favorite corner store/ butcher shop/ taqueria. I grew up in a small town in the California Central Valley, and the little shop run by a crew of michoacanos was the type of place where you knew if you knew. From the outside it looked like a typical convenience store on the side of the highway, inside were the best carnitas and horchata in a town not lacking exceptional taquerías.

Thyme, bay leaves, and garlic add extra savory flavors to these tacos, while a touch of cloves and a cinnamon stick pull out a slightly sweet nuance from the naturally saccharine fennel. Just a touch of vinegar unifies everything for a wonderfully complex dish filled with spicy uppercuts.

The spice comes from a very generous helping of chipotle peppers and a tablespoon of gochugaru. I prefer dry peppers but you are welcome to replace them with chipotles en adobo (I have a very difficult time choosing between La Morena, La Costeña, and Embasa) and tone down the number of chipotles used. Note that, in my own experiences, dry chipotle packs much less heat than chipotle en adobo. For anyone used to eating spicy dishes, this is a pleasant walk in the park, with a spice that grows slowly and concentrates around the back of the tongue. For the spice weaklings, use just one or two. If you don’t want any spice at all, look for another recipe.

As for the gochugaru, a coarsely ground red pepper powder used in Korean cooking, it is used here to both compliment the smokiness of the chipotle while adding an extra layer of sweet to the notes of cinnamon and clove. For less stocked pantries, this may be a special purchase, but consider adding it to your spice shelf as a bold alternative to crushed red pepper.

This is a great sauce no matter how you use it — whether it’s to braise another vegetable like cauliflower, to brush on mushrooms on the grill, or even as a stand alone salsa (for the cumin and chipotle fans out there).

To serve, for this particular recipe I tend to lean towards simplicity. I char the corn tortilla directly over the flame and give it a generous helping of crunchy onions thrashed with cilantro, salt and a lot of lime juice.

I have also been known (as evidenced in the photos) to put whatever leafy green, like a charred kale, and hot sauce (lean towards something light and creamy) I happen to have on hand.

A note on quantity of fennel: This entirely depends on the texture and consistency you are looking for. If you want melt in your mouth tacos, cook more fennel (because, like all veggies, it is going to eventually break down and shrink considerably) for a longer cook time. If you want some crunch, 1 medium-sized fennel per person is my go-to measurement.

Roasted Fennel Tacos

Lightly roasted fennel topped with a generous handful of cilantro and an herby salsa verde.

Ingredients

• 4 medium-sized fennels (roughly 2 pounds)
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 3 cloves
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon gochugaru
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 6 dried chipotle peppers, rehydrated in hot water; reserve water
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• Salt to taste
• ½ medium onion, roughly chopped
• Squirt of white vinegar

To assemble

• Corn tortillas
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Lime and cilantro
• Crema, optional (here’s a vegan recipe for almond crema)

Let’s start cooking!

1. Start by toasting dry chipotle in a hot pan and rehydrating them in at least one cup of boiling hot water. Set aside. Reserve the water!
2. Toast cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, and cloves. This is quick! Be careful to swish the cumin seeds and cloves with a spatula and remove from heat once you can smell the cumin fragrance to avoid burning.
3. Once chipotle chiles are pliable, add to blender with toasted spices along with thyme, bay leaves, garlic, gochugaru, garlic, onion, and ½ cup of reserved water. Blend on high for 45 seconds to a full minute. The color should become a deep reddish brown. Add up to 1 cup of additional water to create a smooth consistency. We do not want a paste that will dry out and burn.
4. Place fennel and sauce in a casserole dish, mix around, cover tightly with aluminum foil and place in an oven preheated to 325°F or 160°C. Cook for 30–40 minutes or until fennel has reached your desired consistency. I like the fennel to have a little bit of crunch left; it really begins to break down into something more akin to a caramelized onion after about 45 minutes if sliced thinly.
5. Finish off uncovered in the broiler to add a crunchy and buttery char.
6. Prepare onion, cilantro, and lime juice ahead of time to cut out the onion’s acidity. I like to top this with a vegan crema made of tahini whipped with lemon juice, vinegar, salt, and water.