Dressings on the Side

Crates and crates of fennel bulbs have been staring me down at the farmer’s market all winter, and I’m not going to lie, I’ve been too intimidated to try cooking with them. They’re big and knobby and look hard to cut — basically a bloody kitchen disaster waiting to happen. Plus, my husband hates things that taste like black licorice, and fennel does have an anise flavor.

Then, last Saturday I caught the tail end of a PBS cooking show called “Everyday Food” where the chef made fennel salad look easy and tasty. I was on my way to check out the Grand Lake farmer’s market — clearly this was a sign that it was time to give fennel a shot. Turns out, Brian and I both loved this salad. It wasn’t too licorice-y and – BONUS – this recipe is is very low-cal, especially if you cut back on the olive oil.  I served it with big spicy pasta dish with chicken and rainbow chard and it provided a light, cooling balance to the heat of the pasta. Give this easy, crunchy fennel salad a shot, and let us know if you love it!

Fresh and Crunchy Fennel Salad

Serves: 2 as a side salad

Meaty Monitor: Real low. This one is very very light and refreshing, but won’t fill you up.

Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb or 2 small fennel bulbs (ideally with the fuzzy stems still attached)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice (use Meyer lemons if you can find them!)
• 1 cup of italian parsley leaves
• 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (you can cut back to 1 tablespoon and it will still be delish)
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesan
• kosher salt and black pepper

Directions:

This salad is best made at the last minute, no more than an hour in advance. If you need to stick it in the fridge for a while, be sure to seal tightly so the fennel doesn’t brown in the open air.

Trim the root and stems off of the fennel bulb(s) and set the stems aside — you’ll need the fuzzy fronds in a minute. Thinly slice the fennel bulb. This gets a little tricky because its a pretty hard bulb, so use a sharp knife and take your time. The thinner these slices, the better, about 1/8 to 1/4 inch is ideal. Pull 1 to 2 tablespoons of the little leaves off the fennel stems. Give them a quick coarse chop and add them to the bowl with the sliced fennel. Coarsely chop the parsley leaves and add them in. Squeeze two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice to the salad and toss to coat all the ingredients – this keeps the fennel slices from turning brown. Drizzle in two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Toss again. If you’re refrigerating the salad, now is the time to seal it tightly and put it in the fridge. Just before serving, use a vegetable peeler to shave of some strips of parmesan cheese from the cheese wedge and add it to the salad. Add a pinch of kosher salt and some freshly cracked pepper,  toss quickly, and voila! Easy, crunchy low-cal fennel salad. Enjoy!

- Hill