I recently got back from a wonderful weekend of cooking at Peter Berley’s kitchen on the North Fork of Long Island. The theme of the weekend was cooking with local foods in the winter. This salad stood out to me because of its unusual combination of flavors that seemed to go perfectly together. I had a healthy serving of it with some homemade foccacia for lunch on Sunday at the workshop. I enjoyed it so much that I made it on my own again Sunday night for dinner with friends. Every last piece of parsley was eaten up. Prior to trying this salad, I was not a fan of the fennel. However, shaving fennel with a mandoline helps to keep the flavor mild and delicious. This salad is a light and fresh complement to any meal.

Thanks to Peter Berley for this recipe and many others throughout the weekend. Your creativity in the kitchen is very inspiring!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup shaved or very thinly sliced red onion
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 very large or 2 medium fennel bulbs, shaved or very thinly sliced
• 1 cup loosely packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• 24 pitted green, brine-cured olives, such as Picholine, sliced
• shaved parmesan to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:

1. Toss the onion with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, toss the fennel, parsley, olives, and celery leaves with the olive oil and the onion and its liquid. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more olive oil or lemon if needed.
3. Sprinkle with parmesan (optional) and serve.

Posted by freshfrombrooklyn in green salad, recipe, salad, seasonal Tags: celery, celery leaves, fennel, lemon, olives, parsley, red onion