Fennel salad with apple: The perfect salad recipe for autumn

After a summer full of salad recipes, you're probably looking for something special to freshen up your fall meals. Opt for the delicious fennel salad with apple, which combines a variety of flavors and textures and is perfect for the cooler days. It is vegan, gluten-free and only requires a few ingredients.

Fennel salad with apple: The delicious autumn salad is easy to prepare

Fennel tastes similar to anise, with a slight hint of licorice. With its herbal, sweet taste and crunchy texture, it goes well with apples, citrus fruits and fresh herbs like dill or thyme. It also contains many health-promoting nutrients as well as vitamins C and B6. Fennel Salad with Apple is a delicious fall salad that has a refreshing taste and a slight crunch in every bite. Its flavors complement each other so well that even people who don't actually like fennel really enjoy this salad. And the best thing is that it is prepared in just a few minutes.

Fennel salad with apple, celery and walnuts

This light fennel salad with apple and celery, garnished with walnuts and Pecorino cheese tastes best cold. So put the ingredients in the fridge for a few hours before preparing it. You can make the dressing a day in advance and store it in the fridge, but you should dress the salad just before serving.

Ingredients:

  • 90g walnuts
  • 3 celery ribs
  • 2 young fennel bulbs
  • 2 Honeycrisp apples
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Pecorino cheese for garnish

Dressing:

  • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • Salt

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toast them for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown. Let them cool and then chop them coarsely.
  • Whisk the lemon juice with the salt in a bowl and slowly drizzle in the olive oil, stirring constantly. Taste the dressing by adding more lemon juice or salt if necessary. Add some pepper if desired.
  • Trim the fennel fronds and chop roughly to add to the salad later.
  • Remove and discard the root at the end of the fennel bulb and the tough outer layers. Slice the fennel bulbs thinly on a mandolin or with a knife.
  • Halve and core the apples and cut them into thin slices.
  • Cut the celery ribs diagonally into 5 mm thick slices.
  • Place fennel, apples, celery and basil in a large bowl, drizzle over the dressing and toss evenly.
  • Transfer the salad to a serving platter, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with the walnuts. Then garnish with cheese shavings.

Also very tasty:Traditional Swabian sausage salad: 15-minute recipe

Ideas to refine

Play with the ingredients and see what comes to mind.

  • Honeycrisp apples are perfect for this recipe because of their sweet-tart flavor and crisp, juicy texture, but you can also use any other variety such as “Pink Lady” or “Granny Smith.” You can even swap out the apples for pears depending on what you like or have.
  • Experiment with other variations of the salad by adding some fresh arugula or baby spinach and garnishing the salad with pomegranate seeds, orange slices or cranberries.
  • Use fresh herbs like dill, parsley and scallions.
  • Add grated carrots for extra color and vitamins.
  • Parmesan and goat cheese are also perfect for garnishing fennel salad with apple.
  • Instead of walnuts, you can also use chopped pecans or slivered almonds.
  • If you prefer a slightly spicier dressing, you can also add Dijon mustard to it. If you prefer, you can also use fresh orange juice instead of lemon juice for the dressing.
  • However, if you want to prepare the salad in advance, stir the fennel and apple slices with lemon juice to prevent the ingredients from browning. Keep them covered in the fridge and be sure to add less lemon juice to the dressing.

The delicious fennel salad withApple is perfectas a side dish for meat and fish, but can also be served as an independent dish.

How to prepare a fennel salad with orangesfind out here.