Smoked salmon and fennel salad. A delicious, flavorful, and complete main course without cooking, perfect for a buffet and as an appetizer for important lunches.
It’s very convenient if you have guests because you can prepare it in advance and keep it in the fridge until it’s time to serve.
Today I’m offering you a smoked salmon and fennel salad, a healthy and tasty dish, perfect for lunch or dinner. Serve this salad with a whole grain roll, and it will be a balanced and complete meal.
You can prepare your salad in advance, let it marinate and rest in the refrigerator for a few hours, and it will be even better.
Perfect also as an appetizer to start a fish dinner or to take to work.
Light, healthy, goodbye guilt—a great balanced meal that’s easy and doesn’t require turning on the stove—a great solution given the heat these days.
Of course, the fennel, besides being fresh, must be small and tender. I often find them at the market, perhaps with their flowers still attached, and they’re delicious!
It is a vegetable rich in nutritional properties, typically winter, characterized by a firm and crunchy texture and a wild fragrance.
The choice of fennel depends, therefore, on what use it will have in the kitchen and what type of cooking is preferred.
The best fennel is those with a firm consistency, a nice white color with leaves at the ends of the stems, of a bright green color.
Yes, fennel can be male or female—this is not a scientific distinction but helps consumers make a better choice.
Male fennel, raw: it is quite fleshy and has a decidedly rounded shape. The higher percentage of pulp makes it particularly suitable for raw consumption;
Female fennel, cooked: female fennel is thinner and elongated, which means it has a more fibrous pulp… that’s why I recommend consuming it cooked.
So for our recipe, I recommend the male fennel, nice and fleshy and round.
This little salad is delicious and balanced, and it’s also perfect to take to work in the “schiscetta,” as we call the so-called packed lunch in Lombardy. Fennel is diuretic and purifying, salmon is rich in protein, and lemon provides vitamins and flavor.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 197.21 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 4.23 (g) of which sugars 3.60 (g)
- Proteins 17.29 (g)
- Fat 12.07 (g) of which saturated 2.10 (g)of which unsaturated 1.97 (g)
- Fibers 4.03 (g)
- Sodium 1,522.28 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 120 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients for the Fennel and Salmon Salad
- 2 fennel (large)
- 8.5 oz smoked salmon
- 2 lemons
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch salt
- pepper
Tools
- Mandolin
- Plate
Steps for the Fennel and Salmon Salad
First, clean the fennel: remove the tougher outer parts, and the tufts of green fronds (leaving some aside for the final decoration).
Rinse the fennel well under running water to remove any impurities.
Pat them dry with a cloth or paper towel and, with the help of a knife, slice them thinly.
Next, take a serving plate and arrange the slices of smoked salmon and fennel.
Prepare an emulsion of extra virgin olive oil and lemon: squeeze the juice of a lemon and strain it with a fine mesh sieve.
In a bowl, combine 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 3 of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
(Be cautious with the salt; the salmon is already flavorful).
Beat with a fork to obtain a well-blended liquid.
Drizzle the emulsion over the slices of smoked salmon and fennel and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
Before serving, decorate with a few slices of untreated lemon and some fennel fronds set aside.
Place it in the refrigerator until it’s ready to serve and…
Enjoy your meal.
Tips
Lemon can be replaced with orange.
It can be stored in the fridge covered with plastic wrap for 2 days, then the fennel will start to lose its crunchiness.
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FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What can I substitute for smoked salmon.
With blanched shrimp cleaned and dressed with oil and lemon.
