Sunday, November 8, 2009

Seared Fennel and Carrot Salad


There's gotta be sweet, savory, sour, and spicy in most dishes. We are liking balance above all else over here lately, and this simple, impressive little experiment was a hit. It splits the difference between a side dish and a salad, and it was perfect with arugula and truffle oil soufflés tonight. Here's how it went:

a fennel bulb, split lengthwise
2 carrots
2 tbsp. canola oil
5 dried Turkish apricots, diced
2 oz. Maytag blue cheese, crumbled
1 oz. sherry vinegar
drizzle of olive oil
fleur de sel and crushed pepper to taste, plus fennel fronds to garnish

Heat canola oil on high on stovetop. Place fennel and carrots, cut side down, into hot oil. Stick this in a 450 degree oven for 30 min. Arrange fennel and carrots on plates and top with crumbled blue cheese and diced apricots, which you just toss with sherry vinegar and olive oil. Garnish with fennel fronds and add your salt and pepper.




5 comments:

Bianca said...

So I can't really get down with this one. I hate, hate, hate fennel. But I really wish I could like it. It sounds so fancy.

Thanks again for the vegan cupcake on Friday!

Anonymous said...

the trick is caramelized fennel. we ate it like artichoke leaves.

A

Michelle said...

Any chance you'll share the soufflé recipe or its source? I'm always looking for happy pairings with truffle oil.

The Chubby Vegetarian said...

check out this post. I give alton brown all the credit for my souffle making skills:

http://chubbyvegetarian.blogspot.com/2008/12/chanterelle-spinach-souffle-with-goat.html

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