Shaved Fennel Salad

Name: Shaved Fennel Salad
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 large piece Parmesan cheese (you won’t use it all); 2 large or 3 medium fennel bulbs (about 1 1/2 pounds); 3 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more as needed; Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Prevent your screen from going dark

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Makes 4 servings 1x

Time 20 minutes

Scale

Ingredients

1 large piece Parmesan cheese (you won’t use it all)
2 large or 3 medium fennel bulbs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Take the cheese out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature, which will make it easier to shave. Trim the bottom, stalks, and feathery leaves off the fennel bulbs; save some of the leaves for garnish and discard the rest. Cut the bulbs in half top to bottom.
Working with one half at a time, put the flat side against the cutting board and slice crosswise into slices as thin as you can manage. Put the fennel slices in a large bowl. Chop the reserved leaves, but don’t add them to the bowl yet.
Hold the cheese firmly in one hand and shave ribbons off with a vegetable peeler. It’s okay if they break up a bit. Stop when you have about 1/2 cup shavings. Save the remaining cheese for another use.
Drizzle the fennel with the olive oil, lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Toss with your hands or utensils to break up the slices a bit. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more olive oil or lemon juice if you like. Leave the salad in the bowl or transfer to a platter or plates; top with the Parmesan shavings and fennel leaves and serve right away.

—Recipe from How to Cook Everything: The Basics

Recipe variations

If you can’t find (or don’t like) fennel, use celery. Cut it crosswise at a 45-degree angle so you get long, thin slices. Crumbled feta cheese is nice with celery instead of Parmesan.