Apple Fennel Salad with Parmesan and Walnuts

This apple and fennel salad is full of fall flavors! A simple lemon dressing lets the bright flavors of the apple and fennel shine through.

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What are your feelings about fennel? Its anise flavor really makes it kind of a love it or hate it situation.

It's such a worldly vegetable with so many uses, maybe I can change your mind if you're in the hater category? You can roast it, braise it, pickle it, and use it in salads like this one. And it goes well with seafood and roasted meats, or as the star of the show in vegetarian mains.

Well, I love it. Most of my family members hate it. But that's not stopping me from being inspired and making a beautiful salad for all you fennel lovers out there. It's hearty and crunchy and tastes like fall on a plate.

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• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips
• Related recipes
• Recipe

Ingredients

• Fennel: Look for fennel bulbs that are tight, heavy for their size, and are nice and white to light green. The stalks and fronds should be perky, not limp.
• Granny Smith apples: The tartness works so well with the brightness of the lemon and anise flavor of the fennel. They also hold up well to the dressing and don't get soggy.
• Walnuts: I like to use walnut pieces, as opposed to halves, to keep things bite-sized.
• Parmesan cheese: I've said it once and I'll say it again, use real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. So worth the splurge for the flavor, saltiness, and texture.
• Lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt: These are the only ingredients you need for the simplest and most perfect lemon dressing.

Instructions

Adapted from NYT Cooking.

In a small skillet, toast the walnuts over medium low heat until they are warm and fragrant, then set aside to cool.

Shave the parmesan cheese with a vegetable peeler.

Use a microplane grater to zest the lemons, then juice them.

Whisk together the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt until emulsified.

Slice off the fennel fronds, then slice the fennel in half vertically across the widest part of the bulb.

Remove the core at the bottom of the fennel bulb.

Slice the fennel bulb thinly on a mandoline. If you don't have one, slice thinly with a good chef's knife.

Slice the apples into large chunks, avoiding the core. Then slice thinly on a mandoline or with a good knife.

Toss the apples, fennel and most of the walnuts in the lemon dressing and transfer to a serving plate.

Top with remaining walnuts, shaved parmesan and fennel fronds and serve immediately.

Tips

• Make the dressing first, and slice the apples last. This is important. You want to get those apples into that lemon dressing right away so they don't turn brown.
• If using a mandoline, be very careful of your fingers. Be sure to use the guard provided.
• Save the long green fennel stalks and use them to make stock. They are especially good in a seafood stock.

Related recipes

Try these fall and winter salads that also use fruit and nuts to keep some green in your diet during the colder months of the year.

• Now let's use some red apples and make this Kale Salad with Cranberries, Apples, and Pecans.
• Get a little fancy and make Romaine Hearts with Blue Cheese, Pears, and Pecans. You never knew how easy it would be to make homemade blue cheese dressing!

Recipe