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    Home » Recipes » Gluten-free Recipes

    Published: Nov 13, 2015 · Modified: Oct 11, 2021 by kseniaprints · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · #sponsoredpost · 7 Comments

    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette {V, GF, Paleo}

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    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.


    Fennel is one of those vegetables you grow up either loving or hating. Its strong anise scent is musky and fragrant, like the aftershave of a man you once loved. Its fronds tickle the inside of your palm as you begin to slice it, like the hand of a small child beckoning you to play. When you cut into its heart, fennel opens up fully, just like you did when you finally stopped struggling and gave in to all those feelings that love brings.

    And for many of us, that melange of emotions is just too much for one vegetable... Even if that vegetable is part of a perky, tangy fennel salad.

    Fenel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.

    To me, fennel holds within it secrets and promises. Its green shape reveals nothing about how its going to be when it's sliced - languid, beautiful in its paleness. Like an armour, fennel protects its heart with a thick outer shell and a curly helmet, scaring you off with its smell.

    But what's inside is so much more than you would expect. Its flesh is sweet and fresh, even a bit citrusy, which is why it pairs up so nicely with lemon and orange and mangoes, as I did in this salad. When you roast it, fennel becomes licoricy in its sweetness, its form completely falling apart and giving way to juiciness, creaminess, and mellow flavours: pure bliss.

    Fennel unfailingly speaks to our deepest feelings: love, lust, longing, and loneliness.

    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.
    Fenel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.

    So when I cook with fennel, I usually want to honour its integrity and let it shine. This fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is a simple, seasonal salad that is best made with local fruits and vegetables in their prime. Fennel, Bartlett pears and Honeycrisp apples are sliced thinly, and thrown together in a delicious heap. A sharp mustard vinaigrette is drizzled on top, and the whole dish is crowned with perky fennel fronds.

    I made this fennel salad several times in the past two years, including serving it with a chunk of extra-sharp cheddar, to rave reviews. When I run out of apples, the dish works beautifully with just fennel and pears. All in all, you couldn’t ask for a more refreshing fall salad - and for a vegetable that is so much more than what it seems.

    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.

    And if you're going to try my bulgur salad with roasted butternut squash, this salad would go beautifully on your Thanksgiving table alongside it. I love to serve it with salmon, the recipe for which languishes in my pile of Future Blog Posts.

    On Monday, expect another lovely Thanksgiving side, plus a giveaway!

    If you want to see how to make this Thanksgiving Fennel & Apple Story, check out that link!

    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.
    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is fresh, tangy and sweet, a perfect side for a rich dish.

    Fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette

    This fennel salad with pears, apples and mustard vinaigrette is a simple, seasonal salad that is best made with local fruits and vegetables in their prime. Fennel, Bartlett pears and Honeycrisp apples are sliced thinly, and thrown together in a delicious heap. A sharp mustard vinaigrette is drizzled on top, and the whole dish is crowned with perky fennel fronds.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Salad
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes
    Servings: 2
    Author: Ksenia Prints

    Ingredients

    • 1 fennel head
    • 1-2 Bartlett pears
    • 1 Honeycrisp apple
    • juice of ½ a lemon
    • 2 TBs olive oil
    • ½ TB grainy mustard
    • salt
    • pepper

    Instructions

    • Wash apples, pears and fennel thoroughly. Thinly slice apples, pears and fennel, saving the fronds for later.
    • In a glass mason jar, mix lemon juice, olive oil and mustard (notice that I’ve omitted the traditional sweetener in this vinaigrette – the apples and pears are going to give us all the sweetness we want, so I wanted to keep the sauce extra tart). Seal the jar and shake it well to emulsify the vinaigrette.
    • Heap your fennel slices on a large serving platter. Top with thinly sliced apples and pears. Drizzle all of your vinaigrette on top. Finally, cut your fennel fronds into small bunches, and arrange them on top.
    « Bulgur salad with roasted butternut squash and leeks {V}
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    Comments

    1. Lyn says

      November 13, 2015 at 10:37 am

      Everything you make looks so beautiful, clean and delicious....I will definitely have to try this over my Thanksgiving long weekend with family. Thanks

      Reply
      • kseniaprints says

        November 13, 2015 at 10:46 am

        Hope you like it as much as we did!

        Reply
    2. danielle is rooting the sun says

      November 13, 2015 at 11:27 pm

      ksenia this is the most beautiful post - your recipe, your photography, and your lyrical description of emotion and salad and fennel and love. instantly i am transported to memories, and longingly i am reminded of the deep connection we are able to share with food. thank you for this, and for sharing the perfect autumn salad. ♥

      Reply
      • kseniaprints says

        November 17, 2015 at 1:27 pm

        Thank you so, so much, Danielle. Fennel is a strange vegetable - I think it's the strength and diversity of reactions I get from people to this humble creation that really inspired me.

        Reply
    3. kseniaprints says

      August 24, 2016 at 12:10 pm

      So glad you like it!

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. 40 Paleo Apple Recipes | Paleo Grubs says:
      August 12, 2016 at 8:01 AM

      […] 16. Fennel Salad With Pears, Apples, and Mustard Vinaigrette I love apples and pears with fennel because the fruit is so sweet and the fennel as that deeply sweet-savory licorice sort of taste that is so unique. This salad is lovely and simple topped with a dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice, and grainy mustard. […]

      Reply
    2. 40 Healthy and Delicious Ways to Eat Apples - Your Herbal Health Shop says:
      August 12, 2016 at 10:20 PM

      […] 16. Fennel Salad With Pears, Apples, and Mustard Vinaigrette I love apples and pears with fennel because the fruit is so sweet and the fennel as that deeply sweet-savory licorice sort of taste that is so unique. This salad is lovely and simple topped with a dressing made from olive oil, lemon juice, and grainy mustard. […]

      Reply

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    Privet, I am Ksenia Prints! A food and travel blogger, photographer and storyteller. I help adventurous home cooks explore the world through healthy, beautiful immigrant recipes.

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