As simple salads go, this is about as crisp and refreshing as it gets – and it looks very elegant too. With some crusty brown bread, or toast trickled with olive oil, it’s all you need for a light lunch, but it also works well alongside a good baked potato.
Serves 4
2 medium fennel bulbs
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
A good squeeze of lemon juice
2 medium crisp, tart dessert apples
100g fairly mild, firm goat’s cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Remove the tough, outer layers from the fennel bulbs and trim off the base and the top, reserving any fresh green fronds that are still attached. Slice the fennel bulbs from top to bottom, as thinly as you can. Place in a bowl with the extra virgin olive oil, a good squeeze of lemon juice and some salt and pepper. Toss well and leave to marinate for about 30 minutes.
Just before serving, quarter and core the apples, then slice thinly. Add them to the fennel and toss together. Taste and add more lemon juice, salt and/or pepper as needed.
Arrange the salad on individual plates. Slice, shave or crumble the cheese over the top and finish with any little fronds of fennel you have and a sprinkling of pepper.
PLUS ONE A scattering of cold, cooked Puy lentils (here), lightly dressed with a dash of olive oil, gives an extra nutty texture to this salad and ups the protein.
SWAP If you’re avoiding or cutting down on dairy foods, then you could simply replace the goat’s cheese with cooked lentils.