MARINATED FENNEL AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

This salad was inspired by Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla. Camilla chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Stir-Fried Fennel and Pink Grapefruit for our Food Matters Project this week. I had never thought of using fennel and grapefruit together. It really works! Instead of a stir-fry I made a salad. I pulled up the last of the fennel growing wild on our hill and marinated it in lemon juice, lemon zest and olive oil. After marinating for 20 minutes the fennel is tossed with grapefruit segments, and topped with mint leaves, fennel fronds, goat cheese and a little more olive oil. A wonderful combination of flavors! I served it along side Grilled Swordfish with Lemon, Mint and Basil.

Camilla has Mark's recipe with the shrimp in it here. For other variations on Mark's recipe please visit the Food Matters Project.

MARINATED FENNEL AND GRAPEFRUIT SALAD

 

• 1 large fennel bulb with fronds
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 ruby grapefruit
• 2-3 oz. soft young goat cheese (like chevre)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

1. Remove the stems from the fennel bulb.  Reserve 2 Tbs. of fennel fronds from the stems, and either discard or save the rest for another use (it makes a good bed for baking a fillet of fish on top of).  Halve and cut the core out of the fennel bulb, then slice the fennel extremely thinly with either a mandoline or a very sharp knife.
2. Toss the fennel with the lemon zest, juice, and olive oil, plus a couple pinches of salt and a couple grinds of black pepper.  Set the fennel aside to marinate at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
3. While the fennel is marinating, cut the peel and pith off of the grapefruit and cut between the membranes to remove the segments.
4. When the fennel is done marinating, toss it gently with the grapefruit segments and spread them out on a serving platter or in a shallow serving bowl.  Crumble the goat cheese over the salad, and sprinkle the salad with the mint leaves and the fennel fronds.  If you wish, drizzle the salad with a bit more olive oil and additional salt and pepper before serving, and then go ahead and serve.

Recipe from Five and Spice.