Fennel and Apple Salad

One of my favorite restaurants is Jaleo – a Spanish tapas joint with a couple locations in and around Washington, DC. Unlike a lot of other trendy tapas places this one serves more traditional Spanish dishes. This dish is what I look forward to the most; a delicious salad made of apples, fennel, walnuts, manchego cheese, and a wonderfully tart dressing. This salad will get anyone hooked. It’s an interesting combination of ingredients and yet so light and flavorful at the same time.

In another attempt to mimic my favorite restaurant dishes, I created this knock-off version to satisfy my cravings. My version has quite a few ingredient change outs, but tastes absolutely delicious. For all you home chefs out there, this method of mimicking your favorite dishes can be a great way to start cooking -- take something you love and try to recreate it by adding a personal touch here and there. You’d be surprised how good you feel when you’ve created something just as tasty, and even more fulfilled when others compliment your creation.

Time from Prep to Eating: 15 minutes

What You Need:
Salad bowls

The Stuff:
1 fennel, cut into strips
1 granny smith apple
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1 lemon, juiced
½ Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
Pine nuts for garnish
Fennel fronds for garnish
Blue cheese crumbles for garnish
Pepper

Here’s What You Do:
I think one reason folks don’t cook with fennel is because they’re not sure 1) what it tastes like (a mild licorice flavor) or 2) how to prepare it. When eating it raw here’s how to cut it: first with your knife, cut the bottom bulb from the stalks. With the bulb, cut it into quarters lengthwise, trimming off the bottom edge (it’s a little tough) then removing the very inner part of the core (again, it’s a little tough). Then just slice the quarters into thin confetti shapes.

In a separate bowl, juice the lemon and add the vinegar and oil and whisk until well combined. To layer your salad, add the fennel, apple, and green onions. Sprinkle the pine nuts, blue cheese, and pepper to flavor and drizzle the dressing over the salad to the desired taste. I recommend adding a little of the dressing first, taste test to make sure you haven’t overpowered the salad ingredients, then add more dressing if needed.