Fennel Salad with Sweet Peas
Ingredients
- 2 fennel bulbs (sliced thin; reserve fronds)
- 4 oz sugar snap peas (sliced diagonal)
- 1 shallot (sliced thin)
- ¼ cup flat leaf parsley (chopped)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 avocado (sliced)
- 1 cup blueberries
- Romano cheese (for garnish)
Directions
- Add fennel, fennel fonds, sugar snap peas, shallot and parsley to a large mixing bowl
- Toss with lemon juice, seasoned rice vinegar, olive oil and a couple twists of black pepper
- Add avocado and blueberries
- Garnish with Romano cheese and serve immediately
Spring time in the Inland Northwest can be temperamental. One day it’s 50 degrees outside and you’re warming up with clam chowder after completing chores around the house and the next day it’s almost 90 and you’re craving a bountiful salad to keep you cool. After a snowy winter, I definitely prefer the latter and what better than a bright fennel salad?
I wanted to create a salad that didn’t rely on traditional greens and though fennel would be perfect. It’s a little out of season, but year-round it’s hard to resist once you’ve had it! One of my favorite things about this food is that you can use every part of it.
The seeds are used in breakfast sausage and birria stew for tacos. The bulb is perfect for almost any season of salad. One of my favorites is served with savory chicken cacciatore. And now, we are going to incorporate the fronds (these are the dill-looking greens coming off of the stalks).
Flavor-wise, when raw, the bulb of fennel will carry a sweet, anise flavor. I find it to be the perfumy distant cousin to the flavor of basil. The fronds will have more of an anise and licorice flavor. It has a little bit of spice and is very aromatic. I decided to set the fennel stalks aside for chicken broth and use the rest of the the vegetable in the salad. Then, to sweeten the fennel salad, sliced sugar snap peas and fresh blueberries were included.
Finally, mix in creamy avocado slices and top with lemon vinaigrette and salty, Romano cheese for the perfect salad to bring you to the shores of the Mediterranean. Enjoy!