Things I've never eaten

[TheGreatGherkin]

Have just been browsing some recipes looking for something I've not tried before and came across a vegan dish with globe artichoke and aubergine. I have never eaten artichoke and wouldn't have a clue what to do with it and have no idea what it tastes like. Same as fennel, I've never eaten that although I do know it has an aniseed flavour. Is it just me, or do people actually eat these things?

Fennel is heaven, cooked or raw. I'm looking forward to it coming back into season. The seeds are good too, as of course are the leaves.

Globe artichokes are more special-occasion - stripping off the petals one by one and dipping them in butter.

Artichoke isn’t that out there is it? Fair enough that you’ve never ordered it but pops up fairly often as a topping on pizzeria menus! I think Pizza Express have it don’t they? There’s also the french way of cooking it whole and eating it segment by segment with a dip, that’s delicious! Fennel you get with fish sometimes at restaurants. I don’t cook with either at home though.

Go out and get some of all three and try them. Most supermarkets have fennel and aubergine. Artichokes might be a bit harder to find, but make a mental note to buy one when you see them.

Tbf although I love artichoke the only way I eat it is on a pizza! I like to recreate a limited edition Pizza Express one which was absolutely bloody lush. Following for more things to do with artichokes (I buy them in oil and drain before using)…

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/recipe/artichoke-lemon-chicken-bake
I do a chicken and artichoke bake, a bit like this. They’re nice. There are many tasty American recipes for spinach and artichoke dip too, which usually use tinned artichokes.

Fennel is even nicer IMO, try it in roasted Mediterranean veg, or baked wedges with fish.

I know they are not "out there" but have just never eaten them. I wouldn't mind but we have got fennel growing in the garden! Artichoke prep looks a bit of a faff TBH.

We eat artichoke, fennel and aubergine -
dh cooks. If it were down to me my kids would have been weaned on beans on toast and marmite sandwiches alone.
My diet as a child growing up was almost exclusively freezer to oven or ready meals.
My dc have such a broad variety of foods that they regularly ate as toddlers that I didn’t try until I was mid 20’s.
I absolutely love roasted fennel, I can’t wait for fennel season again (I don’t know when that is, I don’t cook or grow stuff 😂).

You can just pick the wispy leaves of the fennel and eat it. I used to do that a lot as a child as we had a huge fennel bush in the garden.

Thinly sliced fennel cooked in a roasting tin under cherry tomatoes and pork meatballs with fennel seeds is an easy-peasy tasty dinner. Fennel cooked very slowly with butter and olive oil in a heavy pan is glorious. Thinly slivered raw fennel adds crunch to a salad. I would hope to eat it at least once a week in season.

I'll always try unfamiliar veg and fruits - less brave with unfamiliar meatstuffs. I've never eaten tripe.

I used celeriac for the first time this week, on the regular shopping list from now on.

Never had fennel and my local supermarket doesn’t sell it, same situation with celeriac and okra nowhere to buy it, love aubergine though I have it roasted with garlic

All really nice, not cooked fennel or fresh artichoke at home, usually buy artichoke hearts in oil in a jar and put with smoked salmon and capers in salad, v nice. Not sure about what to do with fennel but I'll give it a try soon. Aubergine is gorgeous in moussaka.

Roasted celeriac is lovely and I am partial to an aubergine.

Buy a jar of artichokes - mix them in with a Puttanesca pasta sauce - heaven!

We only just discovered how delicious celeriac is! We make a simple purée-I could just eat it with a spoon.

I grow globe artichokes. I saw them reduced to a pound at the garden centre years ago and stuck it in to see if it would take. Years later, I get lots of heads every summer and love them!

I also love celeriac and aubergines. Not so much fennel though. Weirdly, I like the seeds in a sausage pasta, but not fennel itself.