Isn’t that just about the prettiest salad you’ve ever seen? So crisp and fresh, the white of the apple and fennel contrasting with the shades of green in the arugula and apple skins. This fennel, arugula and green apple salad is fast becoming a favorite around this house.
When my friend brought this salad for a Christmas celebration, I enjoyed it for the first time. It went perfectly with the plum-glazed pork loin (which I made with figs instead of plums) we made. I served it not long after that for my parents, when they came for some sirloin with chimichurri sauce. Again, it went perfectly with it, even though it technically really didn’t go with it. In my attempts that make almost no sense, I’m saying that this salad is a very versatile dish.
I made it almost exactly as written, with a couple of exceptions. First, I dry-roasted some almond slivers in lieu of the walnuts, since my dad’s allergic. I had eaten it with the walnuts the first time, and it loses nothing with the switch to almonds. I think candied pecans would work spectacularly as well.
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you that I omitted the sugar in the dressing. I like my dressings tangy anyway, but with the orange and lemon juice, it really doesn’t need to be sweeter. Nature’s sweeteners are already in it…. yeah, I had to say it.
The salad is well-balanced: tart apples, fresh fennel, peppery and bitter arugula all dressed in citrusy-sweet. In fact, I challenge you to find something this salad doesn’t complement. You can even make it a main dish by adding poached or seared fish, grilled chicken or even shrimp.
An easy salad to prepare and enjoy.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jan 28, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
