This simple and fresh salad makes a full-flavoured side dish and will sit nicely along side any main course. It is quick and easy to make, all you need is a few fennel bulbs, rocket leaves and uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing. It can also be enjoyed as a main salad if you are looking for a nutritious and light meal recipe.

Raw fennel can be quite fibrous, but when sliced very thinly and mixed with some salad leaves it really makes a wonderful salad.

Wild rocket has been used as a culinary herb since Roman times, and this peppery leaves was a little known weed.

Fennel and wild rocket salad has been popular along the coast of Slovenian Istria, where I come from, long before wild rocket became “fashionable” and mass produced for the supermarkets and food stores.

Along the Slovenian coast and inland Istria wild rocket grows naturally on the fields and other areas with dry and poor soil (close to typical Istrian dry stone walls), and has been foraged by the locals since – well, since forever, and they mixed wild rocket leaves with other types of salad leaves to make a variety of different salads. My 96 year old nona remembers very vividly picking it.

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious shaved fennel and rocket leaves salad recipe that will bring freshness to your dinner table, and for extra flavour and a bit of crunchy texture you can top this salad with walnut kernels or lightly toasted pine nuts.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

2 fennel bulbs
pack of rocket leaves (about 60-100g)
juice of ½ of lemon, or to taste
extra virgin olive oil, a drizzle, or to taste
sea salt
a handful of walnut kernels, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous.

Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

Thinly slice the bulb using a sharp knife or ideally mandoline slicer, if you have one.

Transfer the fennel slices into a big salad bowl and add rocket leaves.

Season with sea salt, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Toss together, taste, and adjust the seasoning.

Sprinkle and scatter a few walnut kernels and fennel fronds, if using.

Serve immediately directly from a salad bowl or pile onto plates.

Cooked fennel salad is a great choice when you want to complete a meal with a simple salad, all you need is a few humble fresh fennel bulbs and an uncomplicated olive oil and lemon dressing which will get soaked up with some crunchy bread.

This fennel salad is rustic and informal, very healthy and nutritious and a great companion to grilled meats and fish, very fresh and incredibly easy to prepare, can be done in advance, stored in a fridge and served cold on a hot summer day.

Along the Slovenian coast, where I grew up, the area is blessed with Mediterranean climate, which subsequently means that there is an abundance of fennel, a very much loved vegetable by the locals, it is traditionally eaten raw or cooked in salads, or braised, which does go down a treat. Wild fennel is also abundant and grows just about anywhere it can, the fronds are used in the local cuisine instead of flat leaf parsley or in combination with.

I am sharing here this traditional and unpretentious cooked fennel salad that it has been made in my family, and by the locals, well, since forever.

If you go so the food store, see some lovely fennel bulbs, and not quite sure what to do with them, you can start with this recipe...

Ingredients

Serves 4-6 as part of meal

few fresh fennel bulbs, approximately 900g (smaller bulbs are better for this dish)
extra virgin olive oil, a very generous drizzle
1 lemon (juice of ½ or whole lemon, depending on a taste)
fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly or finely chopped (amount to taste)
sea salt
black pepper, optional
fennel fronds, optional

Method

Wash fennel bulbs under cold running water and dry them with kitchen paper or clean kitchen towel.

Place the bulbs on the chopping board and cut off the hard hollow stalks from the bulb which are quite tough and very fibrous. Cut the feathery fronds from the stalks if you are using them for this dish for adding extra flavour and garnish.

Discard the stalks or use them in other recipes for soups and stews, you can use them as a bed for roasted chicken or other meats, and roasted fish.

Trim off a thin layer of the root end of the bulb (the base of the fennel bulb).

Stand your fennel straight up and slice in half.

Check how big the core is, if it is quite big, it is a good idea to remove it for this recipe, as they are very fibrous. The cooking time for this recipe is fairly short, and the core, if not removed, could stay quite hard.

To remove the core, take a knife at a 45 degree angle on both sides of the core and slice in, the core will pop out easily.

Place the fennel in a pot, add boiling water, about ¾ up, alternatively you can steam the fennel.

Put the lid on and gently simmer for about 15 minutes, cooking time will depend on the size of the fennel pieces and the desired consistency.

Adjust cooking time, depending on whether you want the fennel quite soft, or prefer it with still quite a bit of a bite.

Drain in a colander, run under cold water, leave to drain well and cool a bit.

Slice cooked fennel to your liking.

Transfer sliced fennel onto a serving plate.

Season with sea salt and black pepper, if using.

Dress cooked fennel with very generous extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh flat leaf parsley an fennel fronds, if using.

Serve at room temperature or cold, place the serving plate in the middle of the table for everyone to help themselves, and make sure you have some crunchy bread to soak up all those juices.

Just a thought

For extra flavour, sprinkle dressed fennel salad with dried garlic, not a very traditional way of serving, but a nice addition or a variation of the recipe.

Sliced Fennel and Rocket Salad with Olive Oil and Lemon Dressing Istrian Recipe

Ingredients

Method

Cooked fennel salad with lemon and olive oil dressing Istrian Recipe

Ingredients

Method

Just a thought