Welcome elegant fennel to your table

At the market or in the produce section, when the elegant celadon-green fennel bulb beckons, I never resist.

It is a vegetable that is still underappreciated in this country, as opposed to Italy, where it is as common as cauliflower.

You can eat fennel all year, but it is best from fall to spring. It grows well in cool weather, in temperate climates, so this time of year there is a near-constant supply, even if it does come from California or Florida.

The mildly licorice-scented bulb is delicious raw or cooked, so it has many uses, from salad to soup to side dish. For the simplest uncooked preparation, try it thinly sliced with a sprinkle of salt and a squeeze of lemon. Or pair it with sweet oranges and watercress.

Here it is briefly blanched, then baked with mozzarella, Parmesan and bread crumbs. The flavor is kicked up with fennel seed, garlic, peperoncino and rosemary - and, of course, a little olive oil.

Baked fennel emerges from the oven crisp, golden and fragrant. Sometimes I serve it as a vegetarian main course, surrounded with stir-fried greens like kale or broccoli rabe, and a spoonful of soft polenta.

But you can also send it to the table alongside a roast chicken or pork loin, or with Italian sausages. Expect raves.