Name: Fennel and Celery Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons pine nuts; 1 medium fennel bulb; 3.5 ounces celery stalks; 3 ounces apple; 1/4 cup parsley; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 2 tablespoons olive oil; salt & pepper; Parmigiano cheese (NOTE 1) (shaved)

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The fennel goes into an ice bath after slicing on a mandoline, both to clean it and to keep it crispy, which is the quality the salad depends on. It comes out of the water and gets dried as thoroughly as possible before anything else touches it, since wet fennel will not hold the dressing. Celery and Granny Smith apple add two more kinds of crunch and a tartness that keeps the fennel’s faint anise flavor from being the only note in the bowl. The pine nuts toast in a dry pan until golden and go in at the end.

Fennel is a vegetable that too many people walk past at the market without stopping, which is a recurring theme on this blog and an argument for making this salad. Raw, it is crunchy and fragrant. Mandoline-thin, dressed with lemon and finished with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, it is one of the better things to put next to a rich pasta for two that has been asking for exactly this.

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Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Key ingredients to make Fennel and Celery Salad

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

Fennel bulb and fronds – This may not be the most popular vegetable, and that’s a pity, because it is rather versatile (like in Italian Chicken Soup with Fennel & Zucchini) and very nutritious. The bulb, stalks and fronds are all edible. Fennel, when raw, has a crunchy texture and licorice flavor. When cooked, the flavor becomes sweeter and more tender, and the texture more a ‘melt-in-your mouth’ experience.
Celery stalks – as crunchy as the raw fennel and thus a perfect combination.
Apple – I used a Granny Smith apple, as it is in line with the celery and fennel, being very juicy and its color fits with the rest. Other apples can be used, especially if you want to add more sweetness.
Pine nuts – other nuts are also an option, like walnuts or almonds, or even pistachios.
Parsley
Parmigiano Reggiano cheese – an alternative cheese could be Pecorino Romano.

Watch this short video below to see how quickly and easily this recipe comes together.

How to Make Fennel and Celery Salad

Step 1 – Clean the fennel bulb by trimming off the fennel stalks, where they meet the bulb. Cut the bulb in half and cut the core part away. Easily visible at the bottom of the bulb, looks like a triangle.

With a mandoline slicer shave the fennel into very thin slices. Place the fennel slices into an ice bath. This allows you to wash any dirt away and it keeps the slices crisp. Keep them in the ice water for about 10 minutes.

Step 2 – Before you put the salad together, dry the fennel slices on a kitchen towel. Dry them as good as you can. You want the dressing to cling to the vegetables and when they’re wet that is not going to happen.

Step 3 – Slice the celery, the apple and chop the parsley. Transfer celery, apple, parsley and toasted pine nuts to a bowl and add the fennel slices.

Step 4 – Make a vinaigrette from lemon juice, olive oil, and salt & pepper. Add vinaigrette to the salad bowl and mix. Since it is a delicate salad, don’t mix longer than needed.

Step 5 – Serve the salad in a bowl and sprinkle with shaved Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. You can also decorate with some of the fennel fronds. Omit the cheese if you want a vegan salad.

I hope you will try this Fennel and Celery Salad, its really worth it.

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