Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting
Copyright 2020 Melanie Spiller. All rights reserved.
Fennel and Mushroom Salad (conventional)
Melanie Spiller and Coloratura Consulting
If you have a mandolin to slice the mushrooms and fennel, this will go much faster and you’ll get an elegant
slice to boot. Careful work with a sharp knife also works just fine.
3 TBLSP extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
½ to 1 TBLSP chopped FRESH tarragon
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
8 ounces of mushrooms (just the ordinary ones), wiped clean and thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
½ yellow onion, thinly sliced into slivers
½ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (pecorino, asiago, or romano work well too)
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, garlic, tarragon, and salt and pepper.
In another small bowl, stir the salt and lemon juice together until the salt is dissolved.
In a large bowl, place the mushrooms and pour the lemon juice over them, giving the shrooms a stir to coat
them. They will enjoy their acid bath enormously.
Slice the fennel and onion and add those to the bowl on top of the mushrooms. Don’t stir it until the last bit
of onion and fennel are in there. Then go ahead and stir gently.
Pour the olive oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to coat.
Scrape the cheese into the bowl with everything else and toss gently. I like to reserve a little cheese to
arrange artfully on top of the salad at the end.
I use a potato peeler to make nice cheese shavings that approximate the shape and size of the vegetables.
That way, people who are sensitive to such things (as cheese) can see that it’s in there.
This recipe can be made the night before and refrigerated with only a tiny bit of wilting and tastes great
either chilled or at room temperature. It also doubles well.