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Another idea is to steam or boil the fennel until tender, then cut in half or into quarters, depending on how big the bulb is. Season with salt and pepper, put them on a sheet pan or in a gratin dish, and top with your favorite cheese: Gruyère, Havarti, Jack or Parmesan, then broil until cheese is melted and lightly brown. Yummy!

hi daisy--in my experience, those pretty little feathery leaves don't pack a whole lot of flavor but you might want to put them into a plastic bag and pour on some olive oil and toss them into the freezer until you can decide how you want to try them--perhaps as part of a salad dressing or with pan-fried potatoes or something. below is some info i've saved with the subject of fennel came up a few years ago--i think weed's idea in a gratin sounds good and below you'll find a couple of things that worked really well for us. hope you find something you like!

Dances I first tried it raw in a salad vinagrette. Very good, surprizingly pleasant. The licorice is more in the aroma than the flavour, and the texture is not crisp but more fibery but not unpleasant. I ate it in salad for the whole week, I couldn't get enough of it. A grating of fresh parmesan cheese, and wowee!
Then I decided to try some sauteed with garlic. I sliced a garlic clove and sliced the fennel. Added it to a bit of melted margarine on low heat, grind of salt and pepper. I sauteed until the fennel was tender and the garlic browned but not burned. If you want a taste sensation so complex and wonderful it almost makes you faint, take a bit of garlic and a bit of fennel on your fork. Gracious! Not so licorice when cooked, I can't even explain the savory flavour. It's like tasting every single fall vegetable at the same time along with celery and garlic and onion.
I am DEFINITELY going to add this to my next roasting pan! Well, at least the next roast I don't want DH and DD to eat ;).

Dances, my first experiences eating fresh fennel was similar--I couldn't get enough! I will try your sauted fennel with garlic. I made Alice Waters' (Chez Panisse) simple recipe for Shaved Fennel, Mushroom, and Parmesan Salad (see link below). I ate almost the entire salad. Only difference is I sauteed the mushrooms as I don't like them raw. Basically, the recipe/method is: 1. Cut off the feathery tops of the fennel at the base of their stalks and remove the outer layer of the bulbs. Slice the bulbs very thin with a mandolin or a very sharp knife. 2. Assemble the salad in layers on a large platter or on individual salad plates. 3. First make a layer of the fennel slices. Squeeze lemon juice evenly over the fennel and drizzle with fruity olive oil, salt and pepper. 4. Then make a layer of the mushrooms, also slice very thin. Squeeze more lemon juice over them, drizzle evenly with olive oil, salt and pepper. 5. Grate or cut thin shavings of the Parmesan with cheese slicer or a vegetable peeler and arrange them on top of the salad. Drizzle with olive oil. Serve immediately. * Other options are artichokes and balsamic vinegar. MQ

Actually San, I find that the taste of the leaves is quite as gutsy as the taste of the bulb, at least when uncooked. It's strong enough to knock your socks off! Too strong for me, anyway, to use uncooked, so I'll freeze some of them while I think up some ideas of using them.

I roasted half the bulb along with some other veges, and made a cheese sauce to serve over it. Half a bulb was too much for one person with everything else, but it was nice done that way (I zapped it in the microwave for 1 minute before roasting). With the other half now frozen, I've got at least 2 more methods to try from your suggestions. Thanks.

your reaction to the fennel fronds reminds me that we do taste things differently. brocolli is one of my favorite veggies but i know it's on the bottom of the barrel for lots of folks, who perceive it as being very bitter. i can't imagine that but apparently it's true.

i know some people love meats that have been brined but that is way too salty in my book, even when i cut back on the salt used and shortened the amount of time meat sat in the solution...i also thought i really loved garlic until i met someone who uses it in practically any savory dish i can think of--yet she finds chopped celery in a potato salad to be overwhelming! anyway, hope you find something you like!