shaved fennel salad

This shaved fennel salad is light, fresh, and crunchy. Toss it with thinly sliced celery, green apples, salty almonds, and parmesan for a simple salad with a big punch!

why I love it:

This shaved fennel salad is so fresh and crisp.

We toss it with lightly pickled shallots, thinly sliced celery, crunchy green apple matchsticks, and slivered almonds. It’s just so crunchy and light and flavorful.

I especially love the flavor combination of apples and fennel. The delicate note of anise, and sweet-tart apples, and all the crunch and juiciness and freshness. We don't use raw fennel nearly enough!

And it's even harder to beat when everything is thinly shaved, extra crisp, and lemony fresh. 

The next time you see fennel in the store, grab a few bulbs and enjoy the beauty of a fennel salad.

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shaved fennel salad ingredients:

how to make this shaved fennel salad

1. Make the dressing.
2. Add the shallot and let it pickle a few minutes.
3. Mix in fennel, apple, celery.
4. Mix in parsley, reserved fronds, almonds, and parmesan.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Plate and drizzle with olive oil.
7. Enjoy!

tips to make the best fennel salad:

• Use a mandoline! You'll get even slices of the fennel, celery, and apples, which makes a big textural difference. Not only will this elevate the quality of the salad, but it also saves a ton of time. I have a super simple mandoline I got in France, but the design looks a lot like this mandoline slicer.
  • Get a high-quality mandoline with a simple design, and you'll be more likely to pull it out and use it! And we should all probably buy those tacky cut-resistant gloves! I slice my fingers on these ALL THE TIME.
  • Shave the parmesan on it, too! But slice it thinner than the rest of the veggies for delicate shards of cheese.
• Slice the apple first and toss it quickly in the dressing to coat the surfaces and prevent browning.
• Reserve the fronds and chop them up for the salad. They bring a more intense anise flavor than the bulb itself.

can this be made ahead?

I prefer not to make this shaved fennel salad ahead of time.

Pre-slicing the vegetables too early and letting them sit can cause browning, which looks bad and tastes old.

In a pinch, you could slice the fennel, celery, and apples and store them in cold lemon water (to slow browning). Then drain, spin dry, and toss with the dressing and remaining ingredients.

For best results, enjoy this salad fresh: slice the vegetables within an hour of eating and toss everything in the dressing.

It can be stored for a day or two in the fridge, but the vegetables will soften and the beautiful crispy freshness will be lost.

more fennel recipes to try!

arugula fennel salad

fennel confit

fennel sausage pizza

breakfast strata with fennel and apples

gigante bean, fennel, salami salad

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