This is as raw as I can get to fennel I believe. How many of you expected me to just take a bite out of the fennel bulb like an apple? I got today’s recipe from The Pretty Blog and y’all should really check it out. It is, for lack of a better word, pretty and it looks delicious.
I was pretty relieved to not have to cook anything today and have to worry about a bunch of pots and pans and bowls and all that. I did, however, feel the need to break out the mandolin because I didn’t have faith in my ability to chop up the fennel as thin as I wanted.
Once again, when I chopped off the stalks I was feeling nervous to get a whiff of the licorice smell. As I was slicing the fennel though I went ahead and took a bite of one of the pieces by itself.
No licorice. Well maybe a very very slight taste of licorice but somehow the smell of licorice was stronger than the actual taste. It must all just be in the stalks, which I did not care for again as I tried another bite.
There is something really interesting to eating sliced up fennel. At first glance it looks like an onion that kept all of its segments so you try to prepare your mouth for that intense raw onion taste. What you get though is a nice flavor that isn’t as crisp as celery but unique in its own way.
It has been a while since I’ve had to make a salad in a bowl with all the fancy additions but it’s such a nice sight. My family always kept a huge tupperware container full of salad and we had it at every meal and I somehow have not grown tired of it. Sometimes they would put carrots, broccoli or peppers in there but it was mostly a mixture of greens and it was just a comforting sight to see a layered salad in a bowl again as weird as that sounds.
After tossing it in some olive oil and salt and pepper I twirled up a bit and chowed down. I was in a rush to beat the sunset so instead of chopping up the apple I got the spiralizer out and made them into curls. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you don’t have to get one. I love the way it looks and it helps me work a few more creative things in the kitchen but you’re not missing out on anything other than texture or looks. That, and they are the worst to clean up after.
I really enjoyed this salad. I am so glad the celery was there to offset the granny smith apple and I am glad the fennel was there so the apple wasn’t the only force in the bowl. I think this would make an awesome quick coleslaw combination because I wanted just a bit of a vinegary tang to it.
I’m sure you don’t have to do the whole celery and apple bits either, I bet fennel would be a welcome addition to anyone’s refrigerator salad so I hope you put some on your next batch.
Try 52 
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