Fennel has never been a favourite for me. Before I just couldn’t quite fall for that aniseed flavour but in recent months it has been much harder to ignore these blooming bulbs as they are piled so high in the market. I have given in and they are now commonly popping up in my list of ingredients, I often pop them into my vegetarian lasgana and I have many chopped and frozen in the freezer waiting for the day they are no longer in season. However today or rather last night I included them in raw glory at the centre of this beautiful springtime salad. We were treated to this salad as part of an Easter Day lunch back in Sauze created by a good friend and fantastic chef we know, she said she picked up the recipe in Sicily. So simple, so elegant and so good for you…
Ingredients:
1 fennel bulb
4 sicilian blood oranges
a bunch of flat leaf parsley
a large handful of black olives
a jar of best quality mackerel (here known as sgombro)
extra virgin olive oil
juice of one lemon
So easy: finely slice the fennel and arrange on a plate. To this add the olives sliced in half. The oranges need to be peeled, remove their pith, and slicing horizontally. Arrange these on top. Chop up the parsley finely and throw on top with the chunks of delicious mackerel. In moments you can shake up the oil and lemon juice in a jam jar and drizzle across this “bellissimo” salad. We enjoyed it with a minted potato salad and pizza bianca but it would be a lovely to dish for more diners with a selection of salads and cheeses.
fleurmakes 