Storm In My Kitchen

This salad made me a fan of fennel. Crunchy and has a fresh, sweetly musky taste similar to liquorice and anise. Paired with apple, it masks the licorice flavor (perfect for those not keen on its taste) and adds to the freshness of this salad. Packed with many health benefits from relieving anemia to improving eye care, this salad was my intro to this herb.

Good as a side dish — I like it with fried or grilled meats.

In fact, it has opened the door to many more delicious Fennel recipes, which I will share with you eventually.

In the meantime, here’s the recipe adapted from Molly Wizenberg’s book, A Homemade Life.

What you need:

• 1 medium fennel bulb, about 10 ounces
• 1 small Green Apple
• Olive oil
• Lemon
• Sea Salt
• Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper

What you do:

Prepare the fennel:

1. Cut off and discard the stalks and fronds.
2. Using a vegetable peel or a small knife, trim away any bruises or brown spots on the bulb’s outermost layer of skin.
3. Cut it in half from root to stalk, and trim the root end.
4. Using a sharp knife or a mandolin and working with the one-half of the bulb at a time, slice the fennel very thinly, 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Set aside.

Prepare the Green Apple:

1. Using an apple core, remove and discard core.
2. Then cut the apple in half from top to bottom.
3. Using a sharp knife or a mandolin, slice it very thinly, just like the fennel. Set aside.

Assembling the Salad:

1. Make a layer of fennel slices. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
2. Then place a layer of apple on top of the fennel. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice, and season with salt.
3. Shave thin ribbons of cheese. Drizzle with oil.
4. Repeat and finish with a good sprinkle of lemon juice, a generous splash of oil and a few shavings of cheese to garnish.
5. Serve with salt and pepper to taste.