Carrot-Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnuts

One of my most favorite autumn vegetables (as if they all are not my favorite) is fennel. I think fennel is the best in autumn, even though you can get it year round in mild climates. When raw, it is crisp and refreshing with a licorice like scent and flavor. When sliced paper thin, it's crunch really adds a wonderful texture to salads. My husband and I actually love just plain raw fennel salads dressed simply with lemon juice and olive oil and some parsley, delicious! It is also wonderful cooked too. If someone tells me they don't like fennel, I make them some simple roast fennel and they take back their words every time. When cooked, it will lose much of it's licorice like flavor.

In this salad, paper thin fennel slices are combined with sliced apples and shredded carrots for a beautiful, colorful combination. I add raw walnuts for a little nuttiness and extra fat (the walnuts can be toasted, but their omega-3 fatty acids will be damaged in the process). A simple dressing and some fresh herbs is all this salad needs to finish it off. I like to use the fennel's fronds as an herb, so if you buy your fennel with the stalks on, save the fronds for an herb and the stalks for vegetable stock.

This salad is great with any white fish, chicken, or even pork, or along side a tomato chickpea stew.

Sorry, no picture today, the camera is acting up and I can't get it to work. I will post one later if possible.

Carrot-Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnuts

 Serves 4-6
 Autumn
-2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
-1 sweet, crisp apple (such as Gala)
-1 bulb fennel, fronds removed and reserved
-2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-1 tablespoon agave nectar
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1 tablespoon chopped parsley
-1 tablespoon chopped fennel frond
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
-Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste



Place the shredded carrots into a large bowl and set aside.
Quarter the apple lengthwise and cut out the core. Halve the fennel bulb and cut out the core. Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice the apple and fennel thinly and add to the bowl with the carrots. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice over the vegetables and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl whisk together the agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and fennel frond. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Add in the walnuts. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if necessary.

Red Romaine, Asparagus,and Radish Salad with Sweet and Creamy MeyerLemon-Tahini Dressing

Where do I start! I love salad (I think I have mentioned this before), and spring time is when I really get to enjoy salads almost on a daily basis.

Salads,in my mind, have to have certain components to be really good. For starters, all ingredients must be fresh, seasonal, and of the highest quality. Two; there needs to be a variety of colors, textures, and flavors, but of course,they need to compliment each other. And three; the dressing or vinaigrette needs to be good. I am sorry (not really), but no ranch dressing in my book. This salad meets all my required components. The red romaine (Clark Valley Farms), is beautiful; crunchy, juicy, red on the tips and outside leaves,and light green the closer you get towards the heart. This week is the first week that I have seen such beautiful radishes (again, Clark Valley), I couldn't resist. Their gorgeous red color just pulled me in. Sliced thin, they offer a little crunch, a little mouth feel, and a little spice. I also added steamed asparagus pieces, thinly sliced refreshing fennel, and good raw and fatty walnuts (radishes need a little fat to compliment their crunch and spice). The dressing is a mixture of local honey, local Meyer lemons, shallots, tahini (sesame seed paste), and excellent extra virgin olive oil.

Meyer lemons are my favorite acid to use in vinaigrettes and dressings during the spring. According to Food Lover's Companion (Herbst, S.T. 3rd edition. Barron's Educational Series, 2001), a Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange. Compared to a regular lemon, Meyer lemons have very smooth skin; sweeter, less acidic juice; are quite fragrant; and are rounder in shape. This dressing can be used in any salad, and is especially good with wild rice and asparagus. If you don't have tahini, or you just don't like it, pureed avocado would be just as good. Once you make your own dressings and vinaigrette, you will never buy an already made one again!

I like to garnish this salad with raw walnuts (not toasted to preserve their precious omega-3s), and the fronds from the bulb of fennel. Tarragon leaves would also be a nice garnish here as well. I always add herbs to my salads; they add such a nice surprise in between bites!

Red Romaine, Asparagus, and Radish Salad with

Sweet and Creamy Meyer Lemon-Tahini Dressing

Serves 2-4 as a first course or last course

Spring

Dressing

-1 tablespoon minced shallot

-1 tablespoon honey

-juice of 2 Meyer Lemons

-1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

-1 tablespoon tahini

-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, or to taste

In a pint sized glass mason jar, combine all ingredients except the extra virgin olive oil. Close the lid tight and shake well. Add the olive oil and shake well again. Set aside.

Salad

-1 head red romaine, cut into fork size pieces, washed and spun dry

-1/2 bulb fennel, core removed,sliced thin on a mandolin (a Benrinner mandolin is my favorite)

-3-4 Cherry Belle radishes, washed and sliced thin

-10 asparagus spears, cut into 1/2 inch lengths, steamed and quickly cooled

-Handful of chopped, raw walnuts

-Fennel fronds for garnish

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or on a plate. Serve with the dressing on the side.

Golden Sunshine Slaw

Vibrant and colorful, golden beets and carrots are loaded with powerful antioxidants, especially beta-carotene, the vegetable form of vitamin A. Antioxidants, as well as phytochemicals, are what give colorful fruits and vegetables their distinctive colors and smells. Thousands of these chemicals are already known to researchers, with thousands more probably unknown . Plants produce these chemicals to help them fight off pests, disease, and pollution, and in turn, when we eat these foods, the same chemicals offer up the same protection for our bodies. Antioxidants and phytochemicals from whole foods are finally being recognized for their cancer fighting abilities. I say whole foods because antioxidants act differently when they become isolated in a supplement. An isolated antioxidant will not offer the same protection in supplement form as it will in whole foods form. One carrot, or one beet, has thousands of different protective properties within it, and all of them need each other to work efficiently. When one property is removed and isolated, it no longer has the help of the thousand other chemicals, and will not offer the same effective protection. Whole foods are always better than supplements.

I won't go into all the different antioxidants and phytochemicals within a beet or carrot, you will probably get overwhelmed. The most important thing to note is that all colorful fruits and vegetables are packed with these naturally occurring chemicals, and should be the backbone to any whole foods way of life. Reds, oranges, greens, purples, whites, and yellows; each color offers thousands of different protective properties. My best nutritional advice to anyone is to pay attention to the colors you eat throughout the day or week. Ask yourself, "did I eat something purple today?", or "did I have an orange fruit of vegetable?". Eating a range of colors guarantees a balance and variety of nutrients. In my perfect world, organic, in season, colorful fruits and vegetables would be the base of my food pyramid (but then again, my perfect world would not have a food pyramid! That is a different argument though).

On to the recipe! This slaw is the radiant colors of sunshine, hence the name. The colors are dramatic, the flavors bright, and the texture refreshing and crisp. Serving beta carotene rich foods along with a little fat helps the body to absorb the beta carotene more efficiently. Beta-carotene converts to vitamin A in the body, and fat from the olive oil helps to transport the vitamin A into our cells. Other fat soluble vitamins include D, E, and K. The olive oil also helps to slightly soften the fibers of the beets and carrots, as well as heighten their wonderful flavors. Fat is also a flavor transporter. If you can get hold of rainbow carrots (carrots in all different colors such as red, white, orange, and yellow) use them! Don't peel them, just give them a good scrubbing and then slice. The colors of this salad will be even more magnificent. We eat with our eyes first, so I believe food should be beautiful, and if you are using gorgeous farmer's market, in season produce, you won't have to do much to accomplish this. This slaw is great when served along side the Rosemary-Garlic Smothered Potatoes. I would say this recipe serves 2-4.

Golden Sunshine Slaw

-2 medium sized golden beets

-2 medium sized carrots

-Juice of 1 Myer lemon

-Juice of 1 orange

-1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar

-1 teaspoon agave nectar

-1/2 teaspoon whole grain mustard

-1/4 cup cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

-1/4 cup lightly toasted sunflower seeds

-Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Remove tops and woody bottoms from the beets. Save the tops for another use if desired. Peel the beets and the carrots. Using a sharp mandolin, such as a Bennriner mandolin, slice the beets into very thin circles. Make three different stacks of circles, and with a sharp knife, finely slice the stacks into very thin strips (like angel hair pasta but thinner). Place into a large bowl. Slice the carrots length wise on the mandolin the same thickness as the beets. Again, make three stacks, and slice thin to create very fine ribbons of carrot. Place into the bowl with the beets. Lightly season the beets and carrots with a little salt and freshly ground white pepper. Toss to coat.

In a separate bowl whisk together the citrus juices, apple cider vinegar, agave, and mustard until well combined. Add the olive oil to this mixture in a slow, steady stream while constantly whisking to create a semi-emulsified dressing. Pour about half of this dressing over the beets and carrots. Toss to coat. Taste to adjust seasoning of salt and pepper. Let the salad rest about 10 minutes and taste again. Add more dressing if needed, but about half is usually sufficient. The leftover dressing is great for green salads. Toss in the sunflower seeds and serve. This slaw will stay fresh about 2 days.