Fennel and carrot salad is a light recipe, perfect as both an appetizer and a side dish. Loved by everyone: vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores. A healthy and plant-based dish rich in fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
The fresh taste of these two annually seasonal vegetables, combined with the taste of fresh seasonal citrus fruit, makes this dish superlative. This recipe is from my friend Paola Di Giambattista’s grandmother Francesca, she calls it “Fennel Carpaccio with Baked Olives and Orangette” and prepares it without carrots.
SEASONALITY
#fennel – almost all year, except the summer and hotter months
#carrots – all year round
RECIPES with fennel
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 4 servings
- Cooking methods: No Cooking
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
- Energy 43.06 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 5.68 (g) of which sugars 3.31 (g)
- Proteins 0.87 (g)
- Fat 2.05 (g) of which saturated 0.28 (g)of which unsaturated 0.32 (g)
- Fibers 1.90 (g)
- Sodium 32.35 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 80 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
Fennel and Carrot Salad
- 1 fennel (small, firm and round)
- 2 carrots (medium)
- 1/4 cup orange juice (or lime, lemon, mandarin, grapefruit…)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- to taste poppy seeds (about 1 tsp)
Optionally, you can add salt (better to always limit) and spices like: nutmeg, thyme, ground cardamom
Fennel and Carrot Salad
First, wash and peel the carrots and fennel.
With the help of a mandoline, slice the carrots into rounds (I made external grooves before slicing to create a flower). Cut the fennel into wedges.
Place all the vegetables in a bowl.
Prepare the orangette (or citronette) Squeeze the citrus to obtain the orange juice (or lemon), if necessary filter it with a strainer.
Pour it into a bowl and add: the oil together with your favorite spices, then quickly emulsify with a teaspoon to mix all the ingredients well.
Add the sauce to the vegetables, mix and serve the fennel and carrot salad.
How to Choose Male FENNEL?
Buy those that are white, fleshy, compact, very fresh, and rounded (the elongated ones are commonly called female). Better if medium-small in size.
In reality, fennel of different sexes does not exist in nature, they are simply different varieties that, by farming tradition, are called: female or male for their shape.
Tasty Variant
To make this salad tastier, you can add roughly chopped mixed nuts: cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, pine nuts.
Or baked or Taggiasca olives.
How to Store Fennel and Carrot Salad
In the refrigerator: it keeps separate (carrots and fennel already cut and orangette) for one day. It’s better to dress just before serving at the table, with the well-mixed, homogeneous, and slightly dense emulsion.
For a less crunchy version, add Orangette at least half an hour before enjoying the fennel and carrot salad.
To cook female fennel I recommend
