Vegetables are not always appreciated by children. However, sometimes you are lucky enough to discover that with the simple addition of a few “smart” ingredients, you can satisfy both their eyes and their palate. This fennel salad with walnuts and raisins works very well with my kids.
The quantities of walnuts and raisins are obviously adjustable according to personal taste (or the children’s requests). Sometimes I replace the walnuts with pine nuts, or I dress it with balsamic vinegar instead of lemon, but the result remains the same: they eat it all 😀
Recently, I discovered that this fennel salad lends itself to very clever variations, which we like a lot. The most popular and most appreciated variation by children is adding apple. A few years ago, I would never have said that I would add fruit to salads, it was a nice and tasty discovery!
And you? Have you ever tried adding apples to salads?
Apple is ideal in salads; its flavor and texture match perfectly with the flavor and texture of fennel. And the walnuts and raisins make the salads good even for children, at least mine, which is a positive thing, right? 😀
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter and Spring
Ingredients
- 1 fennel
- 1 apple
- 3 tablespoons raisins
- 6 walnuts (or pine nuts)
- extra virgin olive oil
- lemon or vinegar
- pepper
Tools
- Knife
- Salad Bowl
Steps
Wash the fennel and slice it.
Wash and slice the apple.
👉 It can be peeled, but we prefer to eat it with the skin on.
👉 The variety of apple generally recommended for salads is the Granny Smith (the slightly sweet green apple), but I have a preference for the Golden, which I find suitable for all preparations including this salad.
Rehydrate the raisins in a little water (but it’s not mandatory).
Shell the walnuts and break them into pieces with your hands.
Mix everything in a plate or salad bowl and dress with oil and lemon or balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of pepper.
😉 My daughter prefers dressing it with balsamic cream, which is sweeter. And if it helps her eat vegetables more willingly, I certainly don’t say no! 😃
Update: I’m updating this recipe on November 5, 2017. A recipe I am very fond of because it is the second recipe I wrote for this blog 😊 and since you never forget the second recipe written, how can you remove the photos (even if they’re not so nice)? No, they are not removed, they remain here purely out of sentimentality!
Salt-Free Advice
Raw vegetables are the best food to start reducing salt. Try this fennel salad: adding apples is a good reason to remove the salt! 🙂
If you are interested in reducing or eliminating salt, always remember to:
▫ Decrease the salt gradually, the palate needs to adapt slowly and should not notice the progressive reduction.
▫ Use spices. Chili, pepper, curry, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, cumin…
▫ Use aromatic herbs. Basil, parsley, oregano, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, mint…
▫ Use seeds. Sesame, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts…
▫ Use spicy vegetables or fruit. Garlic, onion, lemon, orange…
▫ Use my salt-free vegetable granular
▫ Prefer fresh foods.
▫ Avoid cooking in water, prefer cooking methods that do not disperse flavors (grill, foil, steam, microwave)
▫ Avoid bringing the salt shaker to the table!
▫ Occasionally allow yourself a break from the rule. It’s good for the mood and helps to persevere.
If you do not want, or cannot, give up salt:
▫ You can still try my recipes by salting according to your habits.
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As always, you can find me on my Facebook page, on my Pinterest boards, in my two groups: Il gruppo di Catia, in cucina e oltre and Proprio quello che stavo cercando! and if you want… subscribe to my Newsletter.
