Fabulous fennel salads

Fennel is a vastly underrated vegetable, although its fresh, aromatic anise flavour isn’t to everyone’s taste.

Able to be eaten raw, sautéed, roasted, or added to salads, soups, and sauces, fennel is a member of the carrot family, though it’s not a root vegetable.

A layered, bulbous vegetable that originated in the Mediterranean, it has long been a staple in many European countries.

This is a basic salad recipe to which you can add or subtract your preferences. For instance swap flat leaf parsley for basil, or dill, add toasted pine nuts instead of walnuts, tangelos for oranges, and grains/lentils if you wish.

Fennel Salad
Ingredients — serves 4

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Dijon mustard
2 fennel bulbs, finely sliced
2 oranges/segmented
1/2 medium red onion/finely sliced
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
20 black olives

Method

1. Put the vinegar, mustard, and olive oil into a small bowl, and stir to combine.
2. Toss the fennel, orange, parsley, walnuts, red onion, and olives together in a large serving bowl to combine.
3. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.