How do you prepare fresh fennel for cooking?
Sometimes the outer leaves are a bit leathery (especially if the quality isn’t too god). When that’s the case I remove them first.

Next, I remove the green stalks – but Jefromi is right, the tiny leaves are delicious.

The kernel in the middle near the base of the fennel bulb is very hard. I usually cut it out by halving the bulb along its length and making two incisions with a sharp knife on either side of the kernel.

I chop the rest of the bulb so that it yields thin concentric slices.