Chef Riccardo's Taste of the Garden: Summer Salad With Fennel

Chef Riccardo Senettin is back this month with a delicious summer salad recipe that features fresh fennel leaves. Fennel is a wonderful digestive herb and it's a great addition to any garden. The leaves, bulb, and seeds are all edible and most cuisines in the world utilize some part of this plant. Chef Riccardo recommends wild fennel, but if that's not available, cultivated fennel is fine.

Typical Northern Italian Garden, RS, 2014

Summer Salad With Fennel:

for 4 people

250 g Spanish white beans, boiled and cooled (Carona or Butter Beans can also be used.)
200 g of sliced cucumbers
1 celery heart, parboiled and sliced
4 small tomatoes, quartered
a sprig of wild fennel (or domestic fennel, if wild is not available)
150 g of mixed baby salad greens

Dressing:

juice of one lemon
Extra Virgin olive oil (We’ve been hit by fake or adulterated olive oil here recently. If you are in the USA, I recommend California Olive Ranch brand, as it’s the real McCoy. If you are in the EU, Italy, Spain, and Greece have great options and many flavor profiles to choose from.)
salt to taste
ground pepper to taste 

Arrange the greens and other vegetables and beans. Sprinkle with the lemon juice, add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Celery Root, Tomatoes, Cucumber, and Fennel, MR 2014

Summer Salad With Fennel, MR, 2014

Chef Riccardo Senettin