Fennel Salad

Lunch, Salads

Shaved fennel with lemon juice, toasted sesame seeds, fresh parsley, and a generous pinch of flaky sel de Guérande. Clean, crisp, and ready in ten minutes.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 3 minutes mins

Total Time 13 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients 

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• 2 fennel bulbs with fronds
• 2 lemons juiced
• 3 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
• 1 pinch flaky salt
• 1 pinch black pepper

Equipment

knife

frying pan

mixing bowl

whisk

large salad bowl

Instructions

Toast the sesame seeds

• Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant. Tip immediately onto a plate and leave to cool.

Prepare and shave the fennel

• Remove the tough outer layer of each fennel bulb if needed. Cut each bulb in half lengthways, then slice as thinly as possible on a mandoline or with a sharp knife. Reserve the fronds.

Make the dressing

• Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Dress and serve

• Place the shaved fennel in a serving bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to coat. Scatter over the parsley, sesame seeds and fennel fronds. Finish with a generous pinch of flaky salt and serve immediately.

Notes

• Slice as thinly as possible. A mandoline gives the best result, almost translucent slices that are tender rather than fibrous. If you don’t have one, use the sharpest knife you have and take your time. The thinner the slice, the better the salad.
• Keep the fronds. The feathery green fronds have a more delicate anise flavour than the bulb and make a beautiful garnish. Don’t throw them away.
• Dress at the last minute. Fennel softens quickly once dressed. If you want it properly crisp, dress just before serving. If you prefer a slightly more tender result, dress 10 to 15 minutes ahead and leave to macerate.
• The flaky texture and mineral flavour of flaky salt is part of what makes the salad. Regular fine salt works but the crunch of a flaky salt is genuinely better here!

About this recipe

I learned this one from a friend chef in the summer. I was never a fan of this strange vegetable, until I had this citrus fennel salad. It’s quick, it’s fresh, and it tastes unlike anything else because fennel is genuinely unlike anything else. People who say they don’t like anise flavour are often surprised by this, the raw bulb is much more delicate than you’d expect, more fresh and vegetal than intensely liquorice, especially when it’s properly shaved thin and dressed with lemon and good olive oil.

Fennel in France

Fennel has been around in southern France for a very long time. It grows wild all over Provence, and has been used since ancient times as both food and medicine, the Romans brought it with them when they settled the Mediterranean coast, and it became so embedded in the local culture that today you’ll find it growing by the roadside, in garden corners, along dry stone walls.

The bulb variety we use as a vegetable (sometimes called Florence fennel) wasn’t actually developed until the 17th century in Italy, which explains why French cooking has always used fennel more as a herb than a vegetable. The seeds go into fish dishes, the fronds get tucked into whole fish before roasting, and the wild herb flavours soups and stews across Provence and Languedoc. The bulb came later and was enthusiastically adopted, particularly in the south where it grows beautifully in the heat.

Today fennel bulbs turn up at French markets from late summer through winter. If you’re ever at a Provençal market in season and you see fennel on a stall, buy it. The difference between a sun-grown local fennel and a supermarket one is significant, sweeter, more fragrant, and much better in a shaved fennel salad like this one.

What you’re actually eating

Just to be clear about what’s what, because people often confuse the different parts of the plant. The white bulb at the base is what we’re using in this citrus fennel salad. It’s crisp, mildly anise-flavoured, and holds its texture well when thinly sliced. The long stems above the bulb are edible too, though tougher, they work better braised than raw. The feathery green fronds at the very top are the most delicate part and taste like a gentler, more herbal version of the bulb. They’re beautiful in a salad and should never be thrown away.

Flaky salt: sel de Guérande

By now you should know I love flaky salt. I use “sel de Guérande” on this salad and I’d encourage you to do the same. The salt marshes of Guérande are located on the peninsula of the same name in Loire-Atlantique, south of Brittany. The first traces of salt harvesting in this region go back more than 2,000 years, and according to historians, salt has been harvested here since the Roman era.

The “paludiers” (the salt workers) harvest the salt from the clay bottoms of the marshes using ancestral techniques and tools that have remained unchanged for several centuries. Their craft has been passed down through generations. In 2012, sel de Guérande and fleur de sel de Guérande both obtained a protected geographical indication, guaranteeing their origin and quality.

The reason I use it for this citrus fennel salad rather than fine table salt is texture. A pinch of flaky salt on top of the dressed salad adds a crunch and a mineral depth that fine salt simply doesn’t give you. You taste it differently. I think you always should have it in your kitchen.

The anise question

I know some people are wary of fennel because of its anise flavour, so it’s worth saying clearly: raw, shaved fennel in a lemon dressing is nothing like eating liquorice. The anise note is there but it’s subtle, fresh, and clean. The lemon juice softens it further. If you’ve tried fennel braised or cooked and found it too intense, try it raw in this shaved fennel salad first. It’s a completely different experience.

The sesame seeds add a nutty warmth that plays off the anise beautifully, it’s not a traditional French combination but it works really well and adds a texture the salad needs alongside the crunch of the fennel shavings.

What to serve it with

In French cooking, fennel has always been paired with fish, whole fish stuffed with fennel fronds before roasting, fennel seeds going into a bouillabaisse, braised fennel alongside grilled fish. The anise flavour is considered a natural partner for seafood in the south of France, and this shaved fennel salad is no different. It’s particularly good alongside a roasted sea bream, which is a classic Provençal combination.

That said, this shaved fennel salad goes with a lot of other things too. A simple omelette, a quiche, a piece of grilled halloumi. I also love it as a starter on its own with good bread, which is the simplest way to eat it as you can mop up the lemony vinaigrette at the end!