Shaved Fennel and Apple Salad with Walnuts
Fennel eaten raw is a different vegetable from fennel that has been braised: crisp, faintly sweet, and cooling with anise, it wants nothing more than to be shaved thin and dressed sharply. This is a salad with no single national home, the kind of plate you meet from a French bistro to an Italian table to a German winter spread, wherever fennel and apples overlap in the market. The dressing leans entirely on mustard, whose emulsifiers let a splash of vinegar and lemon thicken into something that actually coats the ribbons, no oil needed. Apple matchsticks bring sweetness and acid, toasted walnuts bring the fat and crunch, and a soak in cold lemon water gives the fennel its curl and snap. It comes together in the time it takes to toast the nuts.
Ingredients
- 2 wholes Fennel bulb, shaved thin, fronds reserved
- 1 whole Apples, cut in matchsticks
- 1/3 cup Walnuts, toasted, chopped
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp White wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
Method
- Shave the fennel as thin as possible across the bulb, on a mandoline if you have one, and drop it straight into a bowl of cold water with half the lemon juice for 10 minutes. The cold soak crisps the fennel and curls the ribbons, and the lemon keeps the cut edges pale; drain and spin or pat it very dry so the dressing is not watered down.
- Whisk the mustard, vinegar, the remaining lemon juice, and black pepper into a dressing. The mustard is doing the oil's job here: its natural emulsifiers thicken the vinegar into something that coats, so a no-oil vinaigrette clings to the ribbons instead of sliding off.
- Cut the apple into matchsticks just before serving and toss with the fennel so it does not brown. Apple and fennel are a classic pairing because the apple's sweetness and acid answer the fennel's anise, and matchsticks match the shape of the fennel ribbons so every forkful gets both.
- Dress the fennel and apple, tossing well to coat, then fold in the parsley and the reserved fennel fronds. Dressing raw fennel lightly softens it just enough while keeping the snap.
- Top with the toasted walnuts and serve right away. Toasting the walnuts dry deepens them and makes the handful read as the richness of the dish; add them last so they stay crisp against the wet ribbons.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 150 calories, 4 g protein, 5 g fiber, 70 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
