Fennel, Celery & Pomegranate Salad

Thank you to Steve and Mary Kin for hosting our Dinner Club this week and especially for assigning me this recipe! I have made it 3 times this week! I hope to make it for Thanksgiving or Christmas too. The red and green colors are so festive!

This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2014. I only increased the quantities because I could not find small fennel bulbs and I wanted a larger quantity to take to a party. You can easily cut this recipe into thirds, but we ate dinner size portions of this with a small piece of meat on the side. It does not keep well, so use it within 1 day for best appearance. It gets a little wilted.

The key is to use a mandolin slicer to thinly slice the fennel, celery and shallots. Be careful of your fingers. Always use the protective handle.

 

 

3 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced

9 celery stalks, thinly sliced

3 shallots, thinly sliced

1 cup flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup celery leaves, coarsely chopped (most of the leaves are on the inner celery stalks or the celery hearts)

Seeds from 1 whole pomegranate (slice in half and then break into quarters to easily pop out the seeds)

1/2 cup FRESH lime juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

• Place the mandolin slicer over a large mixing bowl and thinly slice the fennel, celery and shallots directly into the bowl.
• Add the coarsely chopped parsley and celery leaves, and the pomegranate seeds
• In a small bowl combine the lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix lightly and pour over the vegetables. Toss with large mixing spoons.
• Serve as a side dish or as the main course for a light salad lunch.