Fennel and Apple Salad
Fennel and Apple Salad is a delicious salad made with shaved fennel and shaved apple tossed in a light vinaigrette. It makes this winter salad bursting with a refreshing taste along with a slight crunch in every bite. An easy salad and one that doesn’t need a million ingredients to make it delicious! Best of all, it takes only 10 minutes to make and chill. 🙂
Shopping in the Produce Aisle…
It’s funny, every time I pick up a fennel bulb in the produce aisle, someone always stops me to ask “what do I do with it?” …And I always tell them I make a simple salad with it, or sometimes just slice it and add it into our green salads.
Only this time, I decided to make this simple salad using two ingredients, fennel and apple, and toss it with my favorite salad dressing.
The Fennel Bulb….
Fennel (aka “finocchio” in Italian) is not a commonly used vegetable unless you grew up eating it.
Being Italian, we certainly grew up with fennel as a staple in our house. It was used mostly in salads or just eaten alone as a snack.
Even though it’s a water-based vegetable like celery, it has a very unique mild flavor, similar to licorice.
Plus, it’s high in health-protective nutrients, along with vitamins C and B6.
How to Make this Fennel and Apple Salad…
Basically, there are 2 easy steps to making this salad. Once you rinse the bulb and the apple, you can begin.
1. First, cut off the long stalks of the bulb and discard. Next, take your bulb and firmly hold it down on your mandolin slicer, and begin to slice, going up and down (or back and forth) with it. Toss the slivers of fennel into a salad bowl.
2. Second, take your apple (no need to peel the skin of the apple) and start shaving it on the mandolin. When you get halfway through the apple, stop and remove the cord and seeds. Then continue to shave the apple.
4. Next, take the slices of the apple and place them into a single pile, and slice into fourths (as shown in our photos above). Toss them into your salad bowl.
5. Finally, add the dressing and toss to combine. Cover with clear wrap and chill for at least one hour before serving.
Tips and Notes for Success!
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Fresh and quality ingredients make this salad most delicious. Use good-quality extra-virgin olive oil for the dressing, it will make a huge difference in flavor.
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You can make this salad a few hours before serving, but it’s best to serve it the day you make it.
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You can use a good knife to slice both the bulb and apple into thin slivers, but it’s so much easier and very convenient if you have a mandolin slicer.
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Before you start slicing the fennel and apple, select the blade and thickness you prefer on your mandolin slicer. I preferred the medium setting.
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There are so many “mandolin slicer” gadgets to choose from, I prefer one that I can easily store inside any cabinet, it functions very well and it’s not expensive either: Prepworks by Progressive Mandolin Slicer.
Also, if you love gardening and would like to grow your own fennel, here is a link to a comprehensive guide on how to grow fennel.
It’s hard to believe that a salad this simple as this Fennel and Apple salad can be so delicious!
With only two main ingredients and minutes to prepare, you’ll want to make this nutritious salad all year long. And you can! Simply because fennel is readily available. 🙂
When you combine crunchy, sweet-tasting fennel with a tart granny smith apple and toss it with a sweet, tangy vinaigrette, you get an amazing refreshing salad that will go with any meal.
Its robust flavors are intensely delicious! Everyone will enjoy this salad immensely.
Enjoy!!
… thanks so much for PINNING!
Additional Healthy and Nutritious Salads!
If eating healthy is on your list of resolutions for the new year, then you’ll want to add these nutritious salads to your list of “must try” recipes.
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Best Chickpea Salad.
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Green Beans and Carrot Salad- Italian Style!
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Healthy Apple Bok Choy Salad.
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Asparagus Salad with Tarragon Lemon Dressing.
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Delicious Artichoke Hearts Salad.
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Arugula Beet and Goat Cheese Salad.
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Beets and Mango Salad
Have a great day! ENJOY!!
Yield: 6 servings
Fennel and Apple Salad
Fennel and Apple Salad is an ideal winter salad bursting with a refreshing taste and a slight crunch in every bite. Simple, easy, 4 ingredients, and only 10 minutes to make and chill.
Prep Time
10 minutes
Total Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 granny smith apple
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 to 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. Himalayan salt
- optional: freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- First, place the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, and salt into a dressing bottle or glass jar, close it and shake it to blend. If you like, you can add some freshly cracked black pepper, but it's not necessary.
- Second, rinse both the fennel bulb and apple. Cut off the long stalks of the fennel and discard them. Save a few of its feathery leaves to add to the salad.
- Next, using a mandolin, select the size of the blade you prefer. I used the middle blade size, creating slivers of both the fennel and apple that aren't too thin and not too thick.
- Shave the fennel, and transfer to a salad bowl.
- Then shave the green apple. Place the slices of the apple into one pile and with a knife cut the pile into fourths. Transfer to the salad bowl.
- Drizzle with some dressing over the salad, toss, and taste. If you prefer, you can add more vinaigrette to your liking, including seasoning with more salt to your taste. Toss some of the feathery leaves in, as a garnish.
- Cover with clear wrap and chill at least one hour or more before serving.
- Serve chilled.
- Yields: 6 servings
Notes
Best to serve this fennel and apple salad the day you make it.
I think fennel is underused because people think it’s taste is similar to licorice but it is a much milder taste. The crispness of this simple salad is a welcome side to many winter dishes.
I couldn’t agree with you more! We love fennel in salads and this one is a keeper, thanks Karen!
The anise-flavored fennel and tart apple must taste wonderful together!
Hi Susan! … to our surprise, they do!! So refreshing – those two ingredients work beautifully in this salad! Enjoy!
I love apples and I love fennel and tdhis is going to be my supper this evening! I’m a little scared of mandolin slices as I cut myself on one once and gave it away! I do have a small electic grater which is not dangerous and I can use that!
Hi Sandra! So glad you’ll be making this salad today! I completely understand, the small electric grater sounds great! The newer products today have a “handgrip attachment” to hold down the vegetable so we can slice without cutting our fingers. Mine happens to come with one, and I should have shown that in the photo. Have a great day! 🙂
Healthy and yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Dennis!